United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SEP 12 - PORTLAND, Maine - Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division and United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Richard W. Szpyt, a/k/a “Zip,” 57, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge George Z. Singal to 15¾ years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.  Szpyt pleaded guilty to the charge on June 2, 2016.

According to court records, from 2006 through about December 2007, co-conspirator Ramon Dellosantos supplied cocaine to Szpyt on numerous occasions.  Szpyt distributed it to dealers operating in Maine who sold it to customers in Maine.  Dellosantos pleaded guilty to the same charge on May 24, 2016 and awaits sentencing.

Szpyt and Dellosantos were arrested in 2008 along with 18 other people and charged with selling marijuana and cocaine to customers in Maine.  According to evidence introduced at that trial, Szpyt was president of the Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club and he used other members of the club to distribute the drugs.  A jury convicted Szpyt and Dellosantos in May 2009 on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and more than five kilograms of cocaine. In August 2011, their convictions were overturned by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. They were re-indicted on December 14, 2011.  To date, 12 other conspirators have been sentenced.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the York County Sheriff’s Office.