Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 1½ Years in Prison for Failure to Pay Child Support and Drug Charge

Contact: Craig M. Wolff
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Jay
Dandreo, 53, of Lynn, Massachusetts, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court by Judge
Nancy Torresen to 18 months imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release for willfully
failing to pay child support and possessing with the intent to manufacture or distribute marijuana.
Dandreo was convicted of both charges on July 29, 2014, after a two-day jury trial.

According to evidence introduced at trial, in May 2004, the Maine Department of Health
& Human Services (MDHHS) ordered Dandreo to pay for the support of his four minor children.
Between May 2004 and November 2013, Dandreo failed to make any child support payments,
resulting in an unpaid obligation of over $70,000. In August 2012, Maine Drug Enforcement
Agency (MDEA) investigators searched property located in Limerick, Maine owned by
Dandreo’s father and seized 183 marijuana plants growing at several locations on the property,
as well as drug distribution paraphernalia and several firearms.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services,
Office of Inspector General; MDHHS, Office of Family Independence, Division of Support
Enforcement & Recovery; and MDEA.