A federal grand jury in New Jersey returned an indictment Wednesday charging four New Jersey men with narcotics distribution and money laundering offenses, officials stated.
According to court documents, William Panzera, 49, of North Heldon; Thomas Padovano, 48, of Newark; Bartholomew Padovano, 71, of Newark; and Sean Tighe, 46, of Kearny; are alleged members of a drug trafficking organization that sent money and digital currency to China to purchase fentanyl and synthetic cathinones, also known as “bath salts,” to distribute in the United States.
In addition, Panzara set up a shell company to send funds to China to purchase fentanyl, according to officials.
The defendants are alleged to have initially received approximately two to three kilograms of narcotics at a time, concealed in parcels sent through the mail, before they began importing larger quantities of narcotics.
According to court documents, law enforcement intercepted and seized one of these drug shipments.
As alleged in the indictment, the defendants pressed the fentanyl-related substances into pills that resembled commercial pharmaceutical products and sold them.
The indictment also alleges that they made cash deposits into their bank accounts to conceal the earnings from their illegal drug trafficking activities.
Defendant Panzara, Thomas Padovano, Bartholomew Padovano, and Tighe, were charged with drug trafficking conspiracy and international promotional money laundering conspiracy.
Additionally, defendants Thomas Padovano and Bart Padovano were also charged with domestic concealment money laundering conspiracy.
If convicted of the charges, the defendants are facing up to life in prison. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Stephen Sola and Michael Khoo of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek of the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.