PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Four Philadelphia men have been charged in a new indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania with distributing fentanyl that is connected to at least one fatal overdose.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office called them the Hot Sauce Drug Trafficking Organization — 35-year-old Jose Gonzalez, 46-year-old Jamie Velez, 38-year-old Oswaldo Merced-Rivera, and 32-year-old Anyelo Rondon-Herrera — and all four were previously indicted in June on charges of distribution of a controlled substance.
The superseding indictment filed this week alleged that fentanyl dealt by Gonzalez, Velez and Merced-Rivera contributed to the death of at least one person who used ‘HOT SAUCE’ branded fentanyl on Aug. 7, 2025.
Prosecutors said the group stamped their bags of fentanyl with the label ‘HOT SAUCE,’ and were selling at least 200 bundles a week out of locations in Kensington, Mayfair, Holmesburg, Tacony and Olney.
A defense attorney representing one of the men declined to comment.
If convicted, the four men face up to life in prison.
