Nantucket Gang Associate Sentenced to Prison for Dealing Fentanyl and Cocaine in Nantucket and Elsewhere

BOSTON - A Nantucket man who is an associate of the transnational criminal organization 18th Street Gang, was sentenced on March 6, 2026 in federal court in Boston for drug distribution charges.

John Angel, 32, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Myong J. Joun to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In November 2025, Angel pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine.

Between March 2024 and July 2024, Angel met with a cooperating witness three times to sell approximately 117 grams of fentanyl, 28 grams of cocaine and a Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun for a combined sum of over $7,000. Specifically, on March 27, 2024, Angel directed the cooperating witness to meet him in East Boston, where he sold "a 50" (approximately 50 grams of powder fentanyl). Later, on July 10, 2024, Angel met the cooperating witness on Nantucket and sold more powder fentanyl together with a quantity of cocaine. During the drug deals, Angel flaunted his prominence as a high-level drug supplier by boasting of his connections in the 18th Street Gang and in one instance, showing the cooperating witness a backpack containing a kilogram of cocaine and a bag of orange pills and, elsewhere in his apartment, what appeared to be another kilogram of fentanyl. At the third meeting, Angel sold the Glock handgun together with a quantity of fentanyl and claimed he could also obtain Glock "switches," machinegun conversion devices, for the cooperating witness.

The charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations; the Suffolk County and Middlesex County District Attorney's Offices; and the Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Falmouth, Lynn, Medford, Nantucket and Revere Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fred Wyshak and Sarah Hoefle of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Boston is comprised of agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, IRS-CI, USPIS, DOL-OIG and DSS, as well as several state and local law enforcement agencies, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.