Hopkinton Man Convicted In Oxycodone Conspiracy

BOSTON – Following a seven-day trial, a jury today found a Hopkinton man guilty of being a member of an oxycodone trafficking conspiracy.

Mark M. Newton, 28, was found guilty of conspiracy to possess oxycodone with intent to distribute.  Sentencing is scheduled for June 16, 2014. 

In May 2013, Newton was arrested and charged in the drug conspiracy with Michael Bourque, Robert Hagenaars, Brian Chisholm, Phillip Goolst, Thomas Ehwa, Frank McGuire, Michael Roy, Christopher Yancey, Corey Assencoa, Sean Cotter, Mark Ouellette, John Kinney, Raymond Panaggio, and David Akasa.  All 14 co-defendants pleaded guilty before trial.   

During the investigation, court-authorized wiretaps were utilized to intercept communication between the defendants over the course of approximately four months. Bourque, the owner and operator of DEX Corporation, a Natick shipping company, used the business as one of several locations where he distributed oxycodone.  Newton agreed and brokered a deal to provide pills from an oxycodone supplier to Bourque who, in turn, distributed thousands of oxycodone (Percocet) pills to both re-distributors and drug customers.  Bourque acquired oxycodone from multiple sources and utilized Yancey, Goolst, and McGuire, among others, as “runners” to distribute pills and collect drug proceeds. 

Newton faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; John J. Arvanitis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; and Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. 

The case was also investigated by the police departments of Framingham, Waltham, Millis, Natick, Newton, Lexington, Arlington, Holliston, Boston, Stoughton, Haverhill, Shirley, Hopkinton, Watertown, Braintree, Woburn, Acton, and Milford; the Massachusetts State Police; the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council (MetroLEC); and Butte (CA) Interagency Narcotics Task Force. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael I. Yoon and Neil J. Gallagher, Jr. of Ortiz's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.