Salem Man Sentenced For Role In 500K-Pill-Per-Year Fentanyl Ring

SALEM, MA — A Salem man convicted for his role in what the U.S. Attorney's Office called a 50-thousand-pill-per-year fentanyl pressing and pill distribution operation on the North Shore was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison on Monday.

Ernest Johnson, 34, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Johnson, who the U.S. Attorney's Office said went by the aliases of "Yo Pesci" and "Mr. Live, Mr. Drive," was also sentenced to three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the gun charge in May.

"We can only hope that the 'Yo Pesci' show has reached its final episode," First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a statement on Monday. "Mr. Johnson was an active participant in a violent drug enterprise that coordinated armed robberies, engaged in violent shootings and pumped more than 500,000 deadly fentanyl pills onto our streets.

"He not only unlawfully possessed a stockpile of dangerous firearms, including a machine gun and large capacity magazines but Mr. Johnson brazenly flaunted his arsenal through live stream videos. His behavior, both on and off social media, promoted violence and a complete disregard for the rule of law."

Johnson was charged in 2021 as part of a North Shore drug trafficking conspiracy that the U.S. Attorney's Office said utilized a pill press capable of producing 15,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills per hour and distributed about 500,000 fentanyl-laced pills purported to be Percocet per year.

Co-conspirators Vincent Caruso, Laurie Caruso and Nicole Benton all pleaded guilty to roles in the trafficking ring, with Vincent Caruso sentenced to more than 20 years in prison, Benton sentenced to two years in prison and Laurie Caruso sentenced to nine years in prison, as well as supervised release.

Johnson was accused of serving in a security role in the operation as Vincent Caruso's driver and personal assistant. The U.S. Attorney's Office accused him of using "a variety of firearms, including an AR-15, a fully automatic Glock 17, and a number of pistols equipped with large-capacity magazines, to threaten rival drug dealers and cultivate the (drug trafficking organization's) violent reputation in furtherance of drug trafficking activities."

Johnson was also accused of using social media to post and message photos and videos that featured what the U.S. Attorney's Office called an "arsenal of firearms, fentanyl pills, cash and high-end jewelry."

The U.S. Attorney's Office said the videos included Johnson boasting about "his involvement in shootings, beatings and drug trafficking" as well as identifying and threatening people he believed to be a "rat" or a "snitch."

"Convicted felon Ernest Johnson learned his fate for brandishing numerous firearms he wasn't allowed to possess in support of an extremely violent drug trafficking enterprise that dealt deadly fentanyl and orchestrated numerous shootings and armed robberies, using an arsenal of firearms, including machine guns," said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division.