Cocaine ring cracked

A major drug trafficking ring based in Belmont and stretching from the Lakes Region through greater Boston to South America has been broken. United States Attorney Tom Colantuono announced yesterday that two-year investigation has led to the arrest and conviction of 17 individuals, including 14 from the Lakes Region and two Colombian nationals, on drugs and weapons charges.

The investigation, which began with tips from confidential informants, centered on Philip Puopolo, 45, of Belmont who officials said imported more than a kilogram of cocaine and quantities of metamphetamines a month for the past five years through a Colombian drug ring based in Massachusetts. Puopolo was convicted in May of conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and a quantity of metamphetamine and being a drug user in possession of firearms and ammunition. He is scheduled for sentencing in August when he will face a maximum of 40 years in prison.

Ultimately the investigation led to 19 arrests and the seizure of 38 firearms.

Juan Melguizo, 38, of Chelsea, Massachusetts and Narcizo Zarate, 31, of Reveres, Massachusetts, both Colombian nationals who were identified among those supplying Puopolo with cocaine, were also convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. They will be sentenced in July. Melguizo faces between ten and 40 years in prison while Zarate could serve a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Others convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine were: Brian Jordan, 46, of Center Harbor; Peter Verrill, 27, of Laconia; Samuel Verrill, 37, of Meredith; Scott Alati, 39, of Franklin; and Martha Violette, 29, of Laconia. All will be sentenced in June and July and all face maximum prison terms of 20 years. Darcy Foss, 35, of Saugus, Massachusetts was also convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. She faces a maximum of 30 years imprisonment when she is sentenced in June.

Gordon Potter, Sr., 47, of Meredith was convicted of attempted possession with intent to distribute an ounce of cocaine and was sentenced to ten months in prison plus three years of supervised release.

Kennard Lang, 55, of Laconia, Kathleen Gilligan 32, of Gilmanton Iron Works and William Walker, 46, of Laconia were convicted of using a communications facility (telephone) to facilitate drug trafficking. All face as much as four years in prison. Philip Wolfson, 42, of Plymouth and George Archambault, 45, of Center Harbor were convicted of being drug users in possession of firearms. Archambault was sentenced to two years probation while Wolfson faces a maximum of ten years in prison. Gregory Potter, 22, of Meredith was convicted of attempted possession of cocaine, a misdemeanor, and sentenced to three years probation.

Two other Massachusetts men, also suspected of supplying Puopolo with cocaine, have not yet been charged.

During the course of the investigation, authorities tapped Puopolo's cellular phone and made undercover purchases of cocaine. Authorities executed search warrants in Belmont, Laconia, Plymouth, Meredith and Gilmanton Iron Works, where at the homes of Puopolo, Archambault, Wolfson and Potter they seized 38 handguns, rifles and shotguns, as well as $125,000 in cash and a custom built motorcycle. Residential real estate, valued at more than $100,000, belonging to Puopolo and Baumann was forfeited. Searches were also made in Chelsea and Everett, Massachusetts.

Colantuono credited the New England Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a consortium of federal, state and local agencies, with "dismantling this important cocaine and metamphetamine network." Appropriately, he added, the task force was established by president Ronald Reagan in 1982 to bring a number of federal agencies — including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Immigration and Naturalization Service — together with state and local law enforcement departments to pursue cooperative investigations. Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General Ann Rice said that this case "represents an unprecedented level of cooperation."

Joseph LaPlante, Assistant United States Attorney and lead prosecutor in the case, conceded that "others commonly fill in to take the place of those we catch," but stressed that "constant pressure on drug traffickers is valuable. It keeps them underground, where it's more difficult to do business and away from children."