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William T. Bouza, 45, of Watchung, must serve out the entire term handed down by U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark because there's no parole in the federal prison system.
The judge also sentenced him to five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $25,000 fine.
Authorities targeted Bouza in early 2019 after intercepting 33 pounds of heroin stashed in a secret compartment of a Mercedes shipped on a car carrier to a location in Union County from California, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Bouza was waiting for the drugs in Union but bolted after sensing something fishy, an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Newark says.
The following month, an Elizabeth resident reported getting a home delivery of two pounds of heroin, the indictment says. Bouza later showed up looking for the drugs, which had been seized by authorities, it says.
Agents monitored his movements as Bouza stored and processed drugs at various spots in Essex County to sell on the street.
They thought they had him as he left an Irvington location carrying a large, heavy bag in late October of 2019. But Bouza hit the gas when they tried to pull him over, tossed the drugs and eventually fled on foot.
A warranted search of a stash house turned up 1,000 bricks of heroin, each holding 50 individual doses – some of it mixed with fentanyl, Selinger said.
The search of another residence turned up more than $400,000 in cash, the U.S. attorney added.
Bouza was finally captured at a friend’s home in Newark.
An indictment returned by a grand jury in Newark in April 2021 charged him with conspiring to sell heroin and fentanyl, possession of the drugs and conspiring to commit money laundering.
Bouza took a deal from the government rather than face trial, pleading guilty via videoconference before Wigenton this past April 27 to conspiring to distribute heroin and possession of heroin with the intent to sell it.
Sellinger credited agents with the Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations and the New Jersey State Police Opioid Enforcement Task Force with the investigation leading to the indictment and plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Barnes of his Criminal Division in Newark.
“By targeting heroin and fentanyl supply sources, HSI is preventing these dangerous drugs from reaching the street,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard W. Reinhold. “We will continue to work closely with our partners to dismantle these drug trafficking networks."
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