Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey, who is handling the
case, stated that the defendant, along with co-conspirator Maximillian Sams,
ran a large-scale opioid manufacturing and trafficking organization in the
Southern Tier of New York and northern Pennsylvania between 2015 and May 2017.
As part of the conspiracy, Thatcher and Sams imported bulk quantities of
furanyl fentanyl and U-47700 from overseas suppliers China. They ordered the
furanyl fentanyl and U-47700 on what is known as “the dark web,” and used
different people and addresses in New York and Pennsylvania to receive the
shipments. The defendant and Sams purchased equipment and materials – including
pill presses/mechanical tableting machines, microcrystalline cellulose, lactose
magnesium stearate, and powdered food coloring – which they used to manufacture
tens of thousands blue pills containing furanyl fentanyl and U-47700. The pills
were made to look like legitimate 30 milligram Percocet pills.
At least two individuals – a female identified as B.S., and
a male identified as C.H. – died after ingesting the blue pills containing
furanyl fentanyl and U-47700. In addition, at least one individual – identified
as J.M. – overdosed on more than one occasion after using the blue pills
manufactured, but survived after being treated by first responders with Narcan.
Thatcher and Sams used residences at 604 South Lehigh Avenue
in Sayre, Pennsylvania, and 665 Sawdey Road in Catlin, NY, to manufacture and
process the pills for distribution. During the execution of a search warrant at
the Sayre location on May 16, 2017, law enforcement agents recovered, among
other things, 244 blue pills containing furanyl fentanyl, four long guns and
ammunition. In addition, during the execution of a search warrant at the Catlin
location on May 18, 2017, law enforcement agents recovered, among other things,
materials used by the defendant and Sams to manufacture the pills for
distribution. During the conspiracy, Thatcher also possessed several firearms
at the Pennsylvania location and his residence in Elmira.
After manufacturing the pills, the defendant and Sams would
distribute them in large quantities to other co-conspirators – including
Anthony Prettyman, Jesus Rivera, Terrance Washington, and Dwayne Banks, a/k/a
Fizzle, a/k/a Fizz, who would then distribute the pills to various street-level
customers in the Elmira area. Pills were also supplied to an individual in the
Charlotte, North Carolina area. As part of the conspiracy, Sams used
co-conspirator Anthony Prettyman to transport 5,330 blue pills containing
furanyl fentanyl from Elmira to North Carolina in October 2016. On October 25,
2016, in North Carolina, deputies with the Iredell County (NC) Sheriff’s Office
conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle in which Prettyman was traveling.
During a subsequent search, the deputies recovered and seized a paint can with
a false bottom containing the 5,330 blue pills from inside Prettyman’s vehicle.
In early 2017, Thatcher arranged for a package of furanyl
fentanyl, that he ordered over the dark web, to be sent to co-conspirator
Carlito Rios, Jr. On March 13, 2017, Customs and Border Protection officers at
the John F. Kennedy International Airport Mail Branch in Queens, NY, examined a
United States Postal Service package addressed to co-conspirator Rios at 1015
Oak Street in Elmira. The sender was listed as an entity in China. Upon
inspection, the package was found to contain approximately 249 grams of furanyl
fentanyl. The defendant and Sams intended to use the seized furanyl fentanyl to
manufacture and distribute additional quantities of the blue pills.
To date, 13 members and associates of the defendant’s opioid
manufacturing and trafficking operation have been convicted of federal
narcotics offenses. Each of those defendants is awaiting sentencing. In
addition, an Elmira resident, Isaiah McLaurin, was convicted in September 2017
of witness tampering, after he made threats on Facebook against an individual
working with the Drug Enforcement Administration during the investigation.
Chief Judge Geraci sentenced McLaurin to 57 months in federal prison.
“This defendant and
his co-conspirators may have thought they could elude law enforcement detection
by purchasing supplies through the so-called ‘dark web,’ but as this
investigation showed, that is clearly not the case,” said U.S. Attorney
Kennedy. “Whether these criminals choose to pedal their deadly poison in urban,
suburban, or rural areas, we will track you down and we will prosecute you to
the fullest extent of the law. The opioid epidemic has taken far too many
lives, but thanks to the efforts of many, including law enforcement, health officials,
and treatment and prevention organizations, we are starting to stem this deadly
tide.”
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug
Enforcement Administration, Rochester Resident Office and Scranton PA Resident
Office, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York
Field Division; the New York State Police, Community Narcotics Enforcement Team
Southern Tier, under the direction of Major Mary Clark and Lieutenant Kevin P.
Sucher; the Elmira Police Department, under the direction of Chief Joseph Kane;
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under
the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly; the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special
Agent-in-Charge Ashan Benedict, New York Field Division; the Pennsylvania State
Police, under the direction of Acting Commissioner Lieutenant Colonel Robert
Evanchick; the Chemung County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of
Christopher J. Moss; the Iredell, NC County Sheriff’s Office, under the
direction of Darren E. Campbell, and Customs and Border Protection Air and
Marine Unit, under the direction of Director Brian Manaher. Additional
assistance was provided by the Northeast Regional Laboratory. Sentencing is
scheduled for February 7, 2019, at 3:00 p.m. before Chief Judge Geraci.