1 Sentenced To Federal Prison For Trafficking Meth From San Diego

SAN DIEGO COUNTY -- A Massachusetts man was sentenced to nearly 14 years in federal prison in Boston on Monday in connection with managing and supervising a methamphetamine trafficking and money laundering ring operating between Massachusetts and California.

The crime ring, authorities say, was responsible for distributing 200 pounds of methamphetamine.

James Giannetta, 64, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 167 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $281,107. On Feb. 14, 2019, pleaded guilty to his role in managing and supervising the cross-country meth distribution ring.

Giannetta and 10 co-defendants from Massachusetts and California were indicted in 2016 for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to launder monetary instruments. The indictment was the result of a two-year investigation of methamphetamine trafficking that alleged that beginning in at least 2013, the defendants conspired to transport sizable quantities of meth from San Diego to Massachusetts, where it was distributed in the greater Boston area.

Proceeds from the sale of that methamphetamine were then transported and/or transferred back to California and laundered in various ways, according to the U.S. Dept. of Justice.

At Giannetta’s sentencing hearing, one of Giannetta’s co-conspirators testified that Giannetta had been the organizer of the conspiracy. The co-conspirator explained that Giannetta had served as a mentor to him and that Giannetta introduced him to his San Diego-based suppliers. Later, after the co-conspirator took over a leadership role, Giannetta continued to receive meth for his Boston-based customers and received a share of the profits from the meth distribution ring. The co-conspirator estimated that approximately 200 pounds of methamphetamine was sent from California to Massachusetts during the conspiracy.

Giannetta was convicted of federal drug trafficking in the 1980s, and after his release from federal prison, he continued to distribute drugs. When apprehended by law enforcement, he provided information about others in the hopes of limiting his own personal criminal exposure, according to the DOJ.

All 11 defendants have pleaded guilty to federal charges. Four, including Giannetta, have been sentenced. The other three are:

• Christopher Halfond, a California-based supplier who was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr., to 140 months in federal prison;
• Mario Castro, a Boston-based street-level distributor, who was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison, and;
• Jorge Grandon, Castro’s distribution partner, who was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.