PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Providence Police Sgt. Andres Perez was a "knowing or unwitting participant" in his nephew's massive drug trafficking operation, which pumped deadly fentanyl onto the streets in multiple states, prosecutors alleged in court documents Thursday.
The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office outlined the uncle's involvement in new court documents filed in federal court, where prosecutors called on a judge to sentence Jasdrual "Josh" Perez to 25 years in prison for his admitted role as kingpin of the multistate drug ring.
The prosecutors highlighted that Perez is the nephew of both Andres Perez as well as Providence Police Col. Oscar Perez, and they alleged the nephew benefited from Andres Perez's high-ranking position in the Providence Police Department.
Despite the scale of his drug dealing operation, Josh Perez was never listed in any Providence police records as a target, witness or source, prosecutors said. And city police never investigated him or charged him with any crime, they added.
"That strongly suggests one of two things, either of which is extremely troubling," wrote Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kunal Pasricha and Lindsey Weinstein. "Either Josh Perez is such a criminal mastermind that he completely duped those closest to him, including those whose job it was to identify and investigate drug dealers like him; or Perez somehow benefited from one or more connections with the Providence Police."
Andres Perez has long denied any involvement in his nephew's operation, but prosecutors said they "uncovered evidence of the involvement of Perez's uncle, Andres Perez, as either a knowing or unwitting participant in Perez's drug trafficking activities." No criminal charges are expected to be filed against Andres Perez as of now, according to the filing.
The revelation marks the first time federal law enforcement has publicly disclosed that they were investigating the uncles and the Providence Police Department related to the Josh Perez case. Target 12 first reported in April 2023 that the FBI had launched a probe into the uncles and the department after arresting their nephew a year earlier.
Before his arrest, Josh Perez was running one of the largest drug dealing operations in the region, according to federal agents. Oscar Perez -- who is not implicated in the new filing -- served as a major before becoming police chief; Andres Perez headed the Intelligence Unit that investigated drug crimes in the capital city.
The most damning piece of evidence included in the new court documents is a recorded phone call between Andres Perez and Josh Perez in January 2022, one month before federal agents raided Josh Perez's properties and shut down his pill-making operations.
Josh Perez fled Rhode Island to New York, before later turning himself into police.
Prosecutors said Drug Enforcement Administration agents hid a listening device inside Josh Perez's Dodge Ram, which recorded him first communicating with a co-conspirator. He told the person to "check around the house" for gray boxes, which agents said meant "pole cameras being used in an active investigation."
Josh Perez then used WhatsApp, an encrypted phone and messaging app, to call Andres Perez, according to prosecutors. Only Josh Perez's side of the conversation was recorded, but prosecutors said the conversation revealed the family members talking about surveillance of another drug dealer who was then under investigation.
That drug dealer was "a known rival of Perez," according to prosecutors.
"The city is putting out mad cameras, but that one is mad obvious," Josh Perez told Andres Perez on the recording, according to court documents. "It's pointing down straight to him."
"This discussion and other evidence raised significant concerns in law enforcement that Perez may have benefited from his uncle's position as a high-ranking member of the Providence Police Department who was responsible for investigating drug crimes," prosecutors wrote.
Josh Estrella, a spokesperson for Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, said Thursday the department "takes any allegations involving our officers very seriously." But he stood by the Perez brothers.
"There was no factual evidence to support claims that any officer knowingly or willfully engaged in criminal activity and obviously, no charges were filed," Smiley said. "Based on these conclusions, no disciplinary action was deemed necessary."
Neither Oscar Perez nor an attorney representing Andres Perez immediately responded to a request for comment on Thursday.
In an interview last year with Target 12, Oscar Perez firmly denied his nephew's drug operation ever benefited from family connections in the Providence Police Department.
"At the end of the day he chose the wrong path, " Oscar Perez said at the time. "It's not a reflection on us, it doesn't define who I am."
Separate from the prosecutor's new court filing, Josh Perez filed his own sentencing memo on Thursday through his attorney Jack Cicilline. The memo included several letters from people who expressed support for Josh Perez, along with records of his good behavior while behind bars at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls.
Josh Perez earlier this year decided not to strike a deal with investigators and instead pleaded guilty to manufacturing and selling large volumes of fentanyl. His cousin Natash Lubo, who said she works summers in Cicilline's law offices, suggested Josh Perez didn't work with law enforcement because his family had been threatened, according to one of the letters.
"I became aware of the fact that Josh had been told or somehow learned that if he cooperated with the government his mother would get a bullet to the head," Lubo wrote, explaining she learned about the threat in July. "He would not reveal any name or how the threat was communicated."
The documents also show Josh Perez wrote an undated letter addressed to Oscar and Andres Perez, asking his uncles for their forgiveness.
"I clearly never thought of the two people in my life who have dedicated their lives to the law and to doing good for others," he wrote. "I beg you, beg you to forgive me. When I get out, I am going to need your good examples as a model for me to follow, and I promise you I am committed to making up for all I have done wrong."
Josh Perez is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday in federal court in Boston.