Maine man sentenced on federal drug charge

BANGOR, Maine - A Belfast, Maine, man was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to ten years imprisonment for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

Shawn Perito, 34, had pled guilty to the charges on Dec. 6, 2010, following an investigation conducted jointly with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Perito was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Court records reveal that between January 2005 and March 2009, Perito, a street level dealer, conspired with others to distribute more than 20 kilograms of cocaine in Waldo County. Perito was a member of a cocaine distribution conspiracy that stretched from Waldo County to New York City. He sold cocaine that was supplied by other members of the conspiracy who obtained it from a source in the Bronx. The Court found that Perito was responsible for distributing 71 grams of cocaine. Perito received an enhanced sentence as a career offender defined by two prior felony drug trafficking convictions.

Other members of the conspiracy who have previously pleaded guilty and have been sentenced include Richard Calligan (67 months imprisonment), Jeffrey Emerson (108 months), Ralphy Dominguez (60 months), Carlos Zamora (172 months), Rodney Littlefield (30 months), Michael Dunn (37 months) and Nathan Dodd (18 months).

The investigation was conducted by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency Mid-Coast Task Force. Investigative assistance was also provided by the Waldo County Sheriff's Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and ICE HSI.

The sentence was announced today by U. S. Attorney for the District of Maine Thomas E. Delahanty II.