Richard Szpyt's conviction on drug trafficking charges was overturned last summer, but the former Haverhill man remains held without bail.
Szpyt's request for bail was denied Jan. 27 by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge John Rich. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Perry, who is prosecuting the case, said Szpyt, 53, is in the custody of the U.S. marshals. He declined to say where Szpyt is being held.
Szpyt's codefendant — Ramon Dellosantos, 42, of Haverhill — was released several weeks ago. He is free on a $100,000 bond, secured by real estate in Haverhill, according to the clerk's office of the U.S. District Court.
Perry said Szpyt and Dellosantos will be tried again. A trial date has yet to be set, he said.
Szpyt and Dellosanto were charged with supplying drugs to customers in Maine through the Iron Horsemen motorcycle gxxg, based in Old Orchard Beach. A jury convicted them in May 2009 on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and more than five kilograms of cocaine.
Their convictions were overturned by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in August. All three appeals court judges voted to overturn the verdict, which Haverhill defense attorney Stephen Colella called "significant."
Colella said the government failed to prove that Szpyt and Dellosantos were part of a conspiracy. Colella has represented Dellosantos and Szpyt in prior matters and served as co-counsel to attorneys Robert Levine and Eliot Weinstein during the March 2010 trial. Levine represented Szpyt while Weinstein defended Dellosantos.
Szpyt, former president of the Iron Horsemen, and Dellosantos were arrested in 2008 along with 18 other people and charged with selling marijuana and cocaine to customers in Maine.
After they were found guilty, U.S. District Judge George Singal sentenced them to prison — 10 years for Dellosantos and life for Szpyt, who has multiple drug convictions.
Dellosantos was held at the Federal Correctional Institute in Schuylkill, Pa., before he was released on bail. As of last summer, Szpyt was held at the U.S. Federal Penitentiary in Coleman, Fla.
Despite the overturning of their convictions, the indictments against Delossantos and Szpyt remain outstanding until the government drops them — or they're acquitted at a subsequent trial.
Szpyt was arrested by Haverhill police, the FBI, Essex County Drug Task Force and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on March 18, 2008, at 12 Haviland St. Haverhill police said he was arrested on warrants charging him with trafficking in cocaine and using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Local police and federal agents arrested Dellosantos at his home at 566 Washington St. in late October 2008. Federal prosecutors said he was among a group of people involved with the Iron Horsemen, which funneled drugs from Massachusetts to Maine.
The drugs were distributed throughout Maine from at least 2004 until December 2007, prosecutors said.
Sgt. John Arahovites, spokesman for the Haverhill Police Department, said Dellosantos was a "major cocaine supplier" to the Haverhill area. Arahovites said Dellosantos used to describe himself as a used car dealer.
http://www.eagletribune.com/haverhill/x318439014/Alleged-Haverhill-drug-trafficker-denied-bail-in-Maine
Dellosantos was held at the Federal Correctional Institute in Schuylkill, Pa., before he was released on bail. As of last summer, Szpyt was held at the U.S. Federal Penitentiary in Coleman, Fla.
Despite the overturning of their convictions, the indictments against Delossantos and Szpyt remain outstanding until the government drops them — or they're acquitted at a subsequent trial.
Szpyt was arrested by Haverhill police, the FBI, Essex County Drug Task Force and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on March 18, 2008, at 12 Haviland St. Haverhill police said he was arrested on warrants charging him with trafficking in cocaine and using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Local police and federal agents arrested Dellosantos at his home at 566 Washington St. in late October 2008. Federal prosecutors said he was among a group of people involved with the Iron Horsemen, which funneled drugs from Massachusetts to Maine.
The drugs were distributed throughout Maine from at least 2004 until December 2007, prosecutors said.
Sgt. John Arahovites, spokesman for the Haverhill Police Department, said Dellosantos was a "major cocaine supplier" to the Haverhill area. Arahovites said Dellosantos used to describe himself as a used car dealer.
http://www.eagletribune.com/haverhill/x318439014/Alleged-Haverhill-drug-trafficker-denied-bail-in-Maine
