A federal judge this week sentenced Melvin Cordero of the South End to 37 months in prison after he admitted he gave 7,000 pills made of fentanyl and a fentanyl analog to an informant in the South End, the US Attorney's office reports.

Cordero, 41, and the father of two, pleaded guilty in May to a count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and p-fluorofentanyl.

The informant was working with the DEA as part of "a broader investigation" into the Dominican-based ring for whom Cordero had agreed to make a delivery on March 15, 2022, the US Attorney's office says.

In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors had urged US District Court Judge Richard Stearns sentence Corder to 46 months in prison:

"Following the transaction, Cordero continued to try to sell fentanyl pills—this time to an undercover DEA agent (the "UC") - and sent photos of available pills to the UC though no sale occurred. The UC also communicated with the individual in the Dominican Republic who tried to sell the UC a pill press that Cordero had. On the date of his arrest, the DEA seized the press from Cordero.

There is no telling what damage Cordero would have done to the community had Cordero's fentanyl pills been released to into the community. His actions helped fuel the opiod epidemic in Massachusetts and beyond."