Antonio Freitas, the former Bristol County Sheriff’s deputy who assisted Carlos Rafael in handling profits from his quota skirting scheme, has been sentenced to serve 366 days in prison for smuggling cash to Portugal. <https://www.nationalfisherman.com/northeast/accomplice-found-guilty-codfather-quota-scheme/>
The sentencing was handed down last week by U.S. District Court Judge William Young, who sentenced Rafael to 46 months in prison last month.
Antonio M. Freitas. Bristol County Sheriff's Office photo..
In February 2016, Freitas smuggled $17,500 through through Logan Airport security and deposited the money in a Portuguese bank account that belonged to Rafael. He was convicted by a federal jury on one count of bulk cash smuggling and one count of structuring the export of U.S. currency in July.
Freitas, 47, of Taunton, Mass., joined the sheriff’s department in 2000 and worked there until he was suspended without pay upon his arrest in 2016. He was fired after his conviction.
In July, Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson testified in Freitas’s smuggling trial, telling jurors that Rafael had no role in the staffing or promotions in the office.
In a Boston Globe interview last week. Hodgson said of Freitas’s behavior, “I don’t believe looking back that there was a way that I could’ve possibly known.”
“Anytime we have someone convicted of this kind of a thing it’s not only a disappointment, but it really steps outside our standards, and, so, yeah, it’s obviously not something we’re happy about,” he said.
Jaime Melo, a captain with the sheriff’s office, was arrested in August after the U.S. Attorney’s office claimed he was involved in the smuggling operation as well. He was charged with one count each of bulk cash smuggling, structuring and conspiracy and is currently awaiting trial.
