Ohio resident sentenced for distributing fentanyl

OHIO — A Cincinnati man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl, following an investigation by the Mason Police Department and the Heroin Coalition Task Force.

Maurice B. Stewart, 41, also known as “Reese” and “Suave,” used his job as a chef at various Cincinnati-area restaurants to sell fentanyl-laced pills, according to court documents.

He frequently sold the pills to coworkers while at work or to customers outside the restaurants.

On Sept. 18, 2022, Stewart sold three blue pills, purported to be Percocet, to a customer for $60.

The customer was later found unresponsive by his mother in their bathroom at the Westin Hotel in downtown Cincinnati.

First responders pronounced him dead at the scene, and one of the pills was recovered.

A toxicology report confirmed fentanyl in the victim’s system, and the coroner ruled the cause of death as a fatal fentanyl overdose.

Stewart was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2023 and pleaded guilty in July 2024. U.S. District Court Judge Matthew W. McFarland handed down the 180-month sentence.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David P. Dornette and Timothy D. Oakley.

The investigation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) initiative, which targets high-level drug traffickers and criminal networks through collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.