News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2002

Two Defendants Sentenced For Drug Trafficking

Boston, MA…. Two men, one from Medford and one from Chelsea were sentenced today in federal court for participation in a Boston-based cocaine trafficking scheme.

Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, announced today that Jose GILPALACIO, age 31, of Medford and Jobet Juan VARGAS, 23, of Chelsea were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf. GILPALACIO was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment to be followed by four years of supervised release and VARGAS was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. GILPALACIO was ordered to pay a fine. On October 10th, GILPALACIO pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The same day, VARGAS pled guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

At the earlier plea hearing, the prosecutors told the Court that had the case proceeded to trial the Government's evidence would have proven that on April 25, 2001, GILPALACIO delivered one-half kilogram of cocaine to another co-defendant, Reynaldo Gaviria RESTREPO, at the latter's residence in Everett. The prosecutor also told the Court that, via conversations recorded pursuant to a court ordered wiretap; VARGAS ordered various quantities of cocaine from a co-defendant, Juan Diego QUINTERO, in March and April 2001.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.