Drug Delivery Service Leader Receives 30-Year Sentence for Fentanyl Deaths of 3 New Yorkers
Originally Published 2 years ago — by USA TODAY
Billy Ortega, a New Jersey man, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for operating a drug delivery service that distributed dangerous drugs, including cocaine laced with fentanyl that resulted in the deaths of three New Yorkers. Ortega coordinated deliveries from his mother's Manhattan apartment and was convicted of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, acetylfentanyl, and cocaine. Despite being aware of a near-fatal incident, Ortega continued distributing the laced cocaine, resulting in the deaths of three individuals. He changed his phone number after the deaths but was eventually arrested. Families of the victims expressed their grief in court, and the sentence serves as a message to fentanyl traffickers. Fentanyl overdose deaths have been on the rise, with the illicit drug being mixed with other substances on the black market.