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Irving Olivero-Pena, 48, was the last of three men sentenced after all admitted that they gave a courier $549,950 to bring to California to buy the drugs.
Authorities in California seized the cash and kept the drug shipment from leaving the state, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said.
Also striking deals with the government were Robert Crawford, 45, of Long Island City, NY, who was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in July 2015, and Melvin Feliz, 54, of Englewood Cliffs.
Feliz, who also pleaded guilty for unrelated crimes, got a combined 14 years when he was sentenced last week.
SEE: Englewood Cliffs Man Gets 14 Years In Fed Pen For $7.8M Law Firm Swindle, Huge Cocaine Deal
All three must serve out just about all of their sentences because there’s no parole in the federal prison system.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty sentenced Olivero-Perez – also known as “Fausto Molina” – to five years of supervised release for his guilty plea to conspiracy to possess more than five kilograms of cocaine for sale.
Carpenito credited special agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Newark Division and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, also in Newark, with the investigation leading to arrests, pleas and sentencings.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of his Cybercrime Unit in Newark represented the government.
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