Boston Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Fentanyl, Cocaine Delivered to Harvard Biology Lab

A Boston man was sentenced on Oct. 5 to 10 years in prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine — some of which was delivered to a Harvard biology lab.

Former FedEx employee Dorian Rojas, 38, pleaded guilty in federal court on March 1 to one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl, more than 100 grams of heroin, and more than 500 grams of cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of heroin.

Following his release from prison, Rojas will be subject to five years of supervision by a probation officer.

In June 2019, a package containing one kilogram of fentanyl and one kilogram of cocaine was recovered by law enforcement from a biology lab on Harvard’s campus. Rojas had asked another FedEx delivery driver Lennon Carrasco to retrieve the package and deliver it to him. The following August, Rojas asked Carrasco to retrieve another package, which contained almost one kilogram of heroin.

Carrasco pleaded guilty on April 13 to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 10.

Julie-Ann Olson, a federal public defender who represented Rojas during his trial, did not respond to requests for comment.

The prosecution of Rojas and Carrasco was part of a broader anti-narcotics initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, a coalition launched in 1982 to combat drug trafficking organizations.

Rojas received the mandatory minimum sentence for the charges against him. During the sentencing process, ten of Rojas’ family and friends wrote letters of recommendation asking the judge to show leniency.

In a memorandum to the court, Rojas asked for the minimum sentence, noting he had no criminal background. He described his childhood growing up in the Dominican Republic and playing baseball with St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, who Rojas described as a “big brother.”

According to the memo, Rojas’ baseball career in the United States was cut short by a career-ending shoulder injury, which led to significant financial difficulties that ultimately drove Rojas to the trade of narcotics.

In one of the letters, Michael Hoadley, Rojas’ longtime friend and former baseball teammate, praised Rojas for mentoring his son.

“I appreciate the mentor Dorian has been to my son, the friend he is to me and the leader he has been to so many,” Hoadley wrote. “I am forever grateful for the day we met.”

Co-founder of the Boston Athletic Academy and former Red Sox player Manuel “Manny” Delcarmen wrote to the court about Rojas’ passion for baseball and the support he provided throughout Delcarmen’s career.

“We the Boston athletic academy need Dorian Rojas,” Delcarmen wrote. “He is a great person. He has always been a good teammate. But most of all he is a close friend we all see him as family.”

“Please give him an opportunity to show you he made a mistake and give him a second chance to help me and others better our city,” Delcarmen added.

—Staff writer Sarah Girma can be reached at sarah.girma@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SarahGirma_.

—Staff writer Brandon L. Kingdollar can be reached at brandon.kingdollar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newskingdollar.