Providence Man Sentenced For Trafficking Meth In Cranston

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Providence man was sentenced to six years in federal prison for trafficking methamphetamine in Cranston, U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha said Thursday.

Charles Bersch, 40, was sentenced after pleading guilty on Feb. 5, to conspiracy to distribute and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine, as well as possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine. Following his prison sentence, Bersch must serve three years of federal probation.

In May 2022, a member of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force was conducting surveillance outside a Cranston home while investigating Bersch and another man. While outside the home, the task force officer saw Bersch and Peter Walkovich, 30, of Pepperrell, Massachusetts, arrive by car and enter the building, prosecutors said. The task force officer learned Walkovich was in possession of a significant quantity of methamphetamine, prosecutors said.

After several minutes, Bersch and Walkovich left the home with two other people, and the four men drove off in the car that Bersch and Walkovich arrived in. An officer stopped the car a short distance from the home. After making observations of suspicious behavior by Walkovich, the officer searched the care and found three backpacks, including one carried from the Cranston residence by Walkovich. Prosecutors said each backpack contained large quantities of methamphetamine. One of the backpacks contained $7,000 in cash. Four thousand dollars was also found inside the vehicle’s spare tire compartment.

Lab tests later determined that all the meth seized was between 97 and 100 percent pure.

Walkovich pleaded guilty on July 20, 2023, to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He was sentenced on September 6, 2023, to two years in prison.

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