PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- A Guatemalan man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for overseeing a drug distribution ring in Maine.
U.S. Attorney Thomas Delahanty II said Evert Diaz was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Portland. Diaz pleaded guilty last August to conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine.
According to court records, Diaz and Santo Bienvenido-Marcano, of the Dominican Republic, were charged following a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation targeting a Lawrence, Mass., drug-trafficking organization.
Court records show that through wiretap interceptions and surveillance, DEA agents learned that the organization was operated by Diaz and Bienvenido Marcano.
Officials said the organization sold about 650 grams of heroin and 700 grams of cocaine to Maine buyers over an eight-week period.
Bienvenido-Marcano was sentenced earlier this month to 5 1/2 years in prison. Prosecutors said Diaz received a longer sentence because he had four prior felony drug trafficking convictions.