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Lynn woman admits she helped distribute her drug-ringleader son's fake Percocet pills

Caruso

Laurie Caruso, 51, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and other controlled substances for her role in a wholesale North Shore drug ring run by her son, Vinnie "Fatz" Caruso and his pals, including video mini-star Ernest "Yo Pesci" Johnson.

The three, along with a fourth person, arrested last June in a federal sweep dubbed "Operation Street Sweepah." Nabbed separately as part of the same North-Shore-based investigation were a pair of champagne-swilling lovebirds who sold guns north of Boston.

The US Attorney's office says:

Laurie Caruso admitted to being a primary distributor for the DTO [drug trafficking organization], which historically manufactured its own counterfeit fentanyl pills when it was based in Saugus. As described during today’s hearing, after interdiction by law enforcement, the DTO outsourced its manufacturing, and would receive deliveries of large quantities of fentanyl pills manufactured in Rhode Island. Once delivered, the DTO would repackage and distribute those pills for sale locally in communities North of Boston. Laurie Caruso admitted to trafficking over 30 kilograms of fentanyl, sold in the form of hundreds of thousands of counterfeit Percocet pills containing pressed fentanyl. As part of her plea agreement, Laurie Caruso also agreed to forfeit over $100,000 in cash seized from the DTO that were the proceeds of drug trafficking.

The FBI alleges that helping distribute orders of the fake pills - pressed out of fentanyl - was mom's full-time job. The FBI also alleges that to help launder at least some of the money, the Carusos and Yo Pesci would travel to a New Hampshire casino and place "parlay" bets, typically of several thousand dollars apiece - but always well under the federal $10,000 reporting requirement - on the outcomes of several sporting events.

Fatz and Yo Pesci so far maintain their innocence. The fourth person pleaded guilty in September.

Laurie Caruso's sentencing is set for June 29. She faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 to 10 years, with a maximum possible penalty of life, the US Attorney's office reports.

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Comments

Good, go to jail. You can bet people died because of the poison fake perks they sold.

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The FBI also alleges that to help launder at least some of the case

Some of the take?

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Fixed.

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Does Ms Caruso know how many people died from taking what they thought was a Percocet only to find out post mortem that fentanyl was in their system? Give her the maximum

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"Yo Pesci" is an incredible nickname.

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.

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I know that all those folks who inspired Matt Damon's movies, The Sopranos, Married to the Mob, etc. probably had kids.

And those kids who grew up with furniture that "fell off of a truck" had to get older, have kids, etc., but this is truly epic family business territory.

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Great to see a mother so involved and supportive of her son's career.

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does fentanyl give you the same high as percocet? do some people die instantly from any amount of fentanyl? people think they are buying percocet and getting fentanyl which can instantly kill them? can some people tolerate fentanyl and get high and be satisfied with the result? these people have pill making machines and press fentanyl into pills that look like percocet's?

rip jimmy hayes

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On the left is a fatal dose of heroin. On the right a fatal dose of fentanyl. It doesn't take much.

IMAGE(https://www.statnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Heroin-Fentanyl-vials-NHSPFL-768x432.jpg)

Source: https://www.statnews.com/2016/09/29/why-fentanyl-i...

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i guess its probably not such a great thing when some meat head and his mom are mixing the batch.

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At least she's happy about it.

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