PITTSFIELD -- A 29-year-old Englewood, N.J. man charged with leading a multi-state oxycontin distribution ring based in Northern Berkshire pleaded guilty to drug charges in Berkshire Superior Court on Wednesday, and is expected to be sentenced to 3 to 5 years in state prison on Feb. 19, 2013.
The suspect, Martini Martin, entered his plea of guilty on 2010 charges of two counts possession of oxycontin with intent to distribute and two counts conspiracy to violate drug laws in court Wednesday.
Martin was subsequently granted a stay until the February date on account of an illness in his family by Judge John Agostini, who sat for the case.
Martin was arrested by the Berkshire County Drug Task Force (BCDTF) in 2010 after a six month investigation into oxycontin distribution in Northern Berkshire.
The BCDTF investigation, which included members of the Adams, North Adams and Williamstown police departments and state troopers assigned to the District Attorney’s Office, culminated in the April-May 2010 arrests of Martin and several others, and seizures of a $20,000 oxycontin stash and $3,200 in cash. These arrests were made in Williamstown and North Adams.
"This was a major distribution ring that diverted prescription oxycontin out of New York City," Adams Police Department Det. Lawrence Ordyna said Friday. "[Oxycontin] is the number one drug of choice here for opiate users."
The investigation led to the
Martin’s sentencing in Berkshire Superior Court was delayed because he went on the run in 2010 while out on bail and was later arrested in the Bronx by the New York City Police Department, Ordyna said.
After that arrest, Martin was held in New Jersey on charges of assaulting a police officer, and was later extradited to Massachusetts.
To reach Phil Demers,
email pdemers@thetranscript.com.
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