18 people from Mass. and nationwide charged in multi-state drug and money-laundering ring, feds say

BOSTON — Eighteen people from across the country, more than half of whom live in Massachusetts, have been arrested in connection with an alleged drug trafficking and money laundering ring centered in Gardner, the U.S. Attorney said Tuesday.

Eleven of the 18 charged live in the Bay State, in Gardner, Leominster, Winchendon, Phillipston, Fitchburg, Shirley, and Chicopee. The rest hail from New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, California, and Hawaii, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement.

The accused drug traffickers appeared in federal courts last week in Worcester as well as Trenton, New Jersey; Orlando, Florida; Dallas, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Riverside, California; and Honolulu, Hawaii, Foley said.

Prosecutors said the following people have been charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances:

1. Hai Son Pham, 39, of Gardner, Mass.
2. Kelly Breault, 41, of Leominster, Mass.
3. Boonphet Sysoumang, 42, of Gardner, Mass.
4. Rafael Moreno, 38, of Leominster, Mass.
5. Courtney Spaulding, 42, of Leominster, Mass.
6. Rhonda Reed, of Winchendon, Mass.
7. Kenneth Godfrey, 59, of Phillipston, Mass.
8. Scorpio Ramos, 41, of Fitchburg, Mass.
9. Gary Boucher, 46, of Shirley, Mass.
10. David Vega, 37, of Fitchburg, Mass.
11. Jose, Garcia, 36, of Chicopee, Mass.
12. Andres Montemayor, 42, of Arlington, Texas
13. James Jah, 37, of South River, N.J.
14. Cesar Gonzalez, 42, of Rancho Mirage, Calif.
15. Abdeem Griffin, 31, of Vallejo, Calif.
16. Fong Yang, 43, of Claremore, Okla.
17. Giovan Colon, 36, of Kissimmee, Fla.
18. Frederick Hrdy, 38, of Honolulu, Hawaii

According to the charging documents, Pham headed a drug trafficking organization in northern Worcester County.

From there, prosecutors said Pham and his co-conspirators allegedly conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute large quantities of cocaine, marijuana, counterfeit pills and other controlled substances throughout the United States, to include Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida, Oklahoma, California, Texas, Washington and Hawaii.

According to court documents, Pham registered and controlled Infinite Painting, a local commercial and residential painting company.

Pham and his co-conspirators allegedly used Infinite Painting to launder drug proceeds through multiple financial institutions by concealing the illegal source of these funds, prosecutors said.

The drug conspiracy charge provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years, up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million.

The money laundering conspiracy charge provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount involved in the transaction, whichever is greater.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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