Police Blotter: Cambridge meth chemist sentenced to prison; Boston firefighters make high-flying save

A “skilled” drug chemist who helped flood Greater Boston with methamphetamine will spend more than a decade in prison for his role in the enterprise.

U.S. Senior District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV sentenced Schuyler Oppenheimer, who went by “SK” and conducted illicit trade with Chinese suppliers under the name “Michael Sylvain,” according to court documents, to 13 years in federal prison.

Oppenheimer, 35 of Cambridge, was arrested in July 2024 and pleaded guilty in January to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and two counts of wire fraud.

Authorities say that Oppenheimer’s drug business was partially funded through $40,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans.

FBI Special Agent Eric Poalino described Oppenheimer repeatedly in a lengthy affidavit supporting the charges as a “skilled” drug chemist. A rap sheet included in court documents shows drug charges — convicted or otherwise — dating back to 2008 and at the time of his arrest on July 18, Oppenheimer was on pretrial release for three pending cases.

In addition to his own record, law enforcement was already on to him because he is suspected “to historically have been a technician for other large-scale pill producers in Massachusetts,” according to Poalino’s affidavit.

That includes working for North Shore fentanyl kingpin Vincent “Fatz” Caruso, who along with his mother in 2021 pleaded guilty to operating a large-scale drug trafficking organization specializing in pressed fentanyl pills and was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. Caruso and a lieutenant of his, Ernest “Yo Pesci” Johnson, who was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, gained notoriety through posting photos of their lifestyles to social media.

High-stakes save

Boston Fire Department firefighters saved a crane operator stuck in his cab at Conley Terminal in South Boston Saturday, despite the dangerous weather conditions.

The Department cheered the firefighters who worked “over 200 feet in the air under extreme weather conditions, high winds and heavy rain.” The department did not say how the crane got stuck.

Incident Summary

BPD responded to 249 incidents in the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. Saturday, according to the department’s incident log. Those included four robberies, one aggravated assault, two residential burglaries, three thefts from a car, two auto thefts, and 26 instances of miscellaneous larceny.

Arrests

All of the below-named defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

— Nicole Anderson, no address listed. Trespassing.

— Kesner Forestale, no address listed. Trespassing.

— Sean Ribeiro, 112 Southampton St., Boston. Trespassing.

— Peter Antonaros, 4 Doncaster St., Roslindale. Possession of Class C drugs.

— Korie Berry, 93-95 Hyde Park Ave., Jamaica Plain. Possession of Class A drugs.

— Kaitlyn Quick, 39 Boylston St., Boston. Warrant.

— Marina Coelho, 35 Northampton St., Boston. Possession of Class B Drugs.

— Jason Toomer, 5 Toplift St., Dorchester. External warrant.

— Xavian Alvarado, 434 Georgetown Drive, Hyde Park. Shoplifting more than $250.

— Aidan Walsh, 20 Powell St., Boston. Shoplifting more than $250.

— Suker Francois, 18 Livingstone St., Boston. Operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

— Donald Villard 151 Hallet St., Dorchester. Carrying a firearm without a license.