News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2006

Lancaster Man Sentenced for Distributing Ecstasy

Worcester, MA... A Lancaster man was sentenced yesterday in federal court for conspiracy and distribution of ecstasy.

June W. Stansbury, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in New England and United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, announced that DONALD E. WHITNEY, III, age 22, of Lancaster, Massachusetts, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV to 2 years and 6 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 8 years of supervised release. On August 25, 2005, WHITNEY pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute ecstasy and distribution of ecstasy.

At the earlier plea hearing, the prosecutor told the Court that, had the case proceeded to trial, the Government’s evidence would have proven that over the course of three drug sales in the Fall of 2004, WHITNEY arranged to sell and sold to undercover DEA agents almost 600 ecstasy pills. The pills were supplied by his co-defendant Nicholas Rheault, age 22, formerly of 124 Middle Street, Leominster. Rheault, who in addition to the drug charges was convicted of a firearms offense, was sentenced in June of this year to 11 years in prison.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Worcester High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.