ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Federal prosecutors say a man living illegally in the U.S. kept large quantities of fentanyl inside Allentown homes just steps away from an elementary school and a public park.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Wilson Rosario was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison, 10 years’ supervised release, a $3,000 fine, and a $300 special assessment.
According to investigators, Rosario stockpiled and sold enough fentanyl to potentially kill more than 216,000 people, nearly twice the population of Allentown.
Rosario was indicted in May 2025 and pleaded guilty in January of this year to drug distribution conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a protected location — specifically, an Allentown elementary school and playground.
According to legal documents, Wilson Rosario, 36, admitted to running a fentanyl operation throughout 2023, using multiple apartments in Allentown as stash houses. Prosecutors say he also had his 20‑year‑old nephew, Luis Ventura store bulk fentanyl in his bedroom. At one point, the fumes were so strong that Ventura “nearly stopped breathing,” according to the document.
As detailed in court filings and statements, from April 2023 to August 2023, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Narcotics Investigation (“BNI”) worked with a confidential source to arrange multiple controlled purchases of fentanyl from the defendant.
On August 26, 2023, BNI agents executed a state search warrant at a residence on the 800 block of West Chew Street in Allentown, which Rosario used to store and package fentanyl. During their search of this location, which is approximately 100 feet from a city elementary school and playground, agents seized nearly 300 grams of suspected fentanyl, a hydraulic press, respirator, digital scales, and other paraphernalia consistent with preparing fentanyl for distribution.
The same day, agents secured a search warrant for another location used by Rosario on the 1300 block of West Chew Street, approximately 300 feet from Allentown’s Franklin Park. In that apartment, investigators recovered more than four kilograms of suspected fentanyl, Narcan, a respirator, and empty vacuum seal bags.
Testing concluded that approximately 4,272.76 grams contained fentanyl or a mixture containing xylazine and fentanyl. Combined with the 62.17 grams of fentanyl recovered from the four controlled purchases conducted by law enforcement in this case, the total amount of fentanyl that the defendant is responsible for in this case is 4,334.93 grams.
Rosario later told investigators that all of the drugs belonged to him, claiming Ventura “had nothing to do with it.” Ventura, however, told agents he had been helping his uncle for months and was pressured to participate because he had nowhere else to live, according to court documents.
On January 8, 2026, Rosario pled guilty to conspiracy to deliver fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a protected location.
“This investigation and prosecution stopped an upper-level drug trafficker who was storing his poisonous products within walking distance of an elementary school and public park,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “I commend our partners for collaboration that removes another predatory trafficker from the community.”