Code name 'Syntropy': 'Dark Web' drug deals send Boca Raton man to federal prison for 16 years
The leader of a Palm Beach County-based "Dark Web" drug dealing operation has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami said.
Anthony Peck, 29, of Boca Raton received the sentence during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks. He previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin.
The “Dark Web” is an area of the internet where people hide their identities, allowing them to create marketplaces for illegal products and services such as illegal drugs, stolen identities and computer hacking.
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Federal prosecutors said Peck and two other Palm Beach County men were involved a conspiracy to distribute narcotics through various dark web markets.
U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg on Nov. 4 sentenced Kevin Fusco, 34, of West Palm Beach to 11 years in prison on similar charges. Vincent Banner, 31, of Boynton Beach has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced in February.
According to court records, between May 2021 and May of this year, Peck distributed narcotics from various dark web markets using the vendor profile “Syntropy.”
After the transactions were carried out using cryptocurrency, Peck, Fusco and Banner mailed parcels containing fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine to cities around the country using the United States Postal Service.
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In announcing the sentencing Thursday, federal prosecutors described Peck as the leader of the operation, saying he obtained drugs in bulk amounts, advertised them using the Syntropy vendor profile, orchestrated their distribution and collected customer payments.
He possessed a list of more than 6,000 customers across the nation, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Law-enforcement agents were reportedly able to recover kilogram quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin from business and storage locations in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton and New York City.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Federal judge sentences Boca 'Dark Web' drug dealer to 16 years in prison
