BOSTON (WPRI) -- A federal appeals court has rejected a request for a lesser sentence from Jasdrual "Josh" Perez, who is serving 22 years behind bars for running a multistate fentanyl drug ring out of Providence.

The three-member panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the decision Wednesday, agreeing with the sentence handed down in December by a Massachusetts U.S. District Court judge.

Perez, who is the nephew of Providence Police Col. Oscar Perez, pleaded guilty in July 2024 to running the large-scale fentanyl operation that prosecutors described as one of the largest drug rings in the region.

The case drew widespread interest after Target 12 first reported in 2023 that the FBI had launched an investigation into the Providence Police Department, examining Josh Perez's u

See Full Page