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Burlington Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute OxyContin

U.S. Attorney's Office May 04, 2009
  • District of Vermont (802) 951-6725

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on May 4, 2009, Joseph Nelson Farrell, 27, of Burlington, Vermont was sentenced to 27 months' imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute OxyContin. The sentence was imposed by Chief Judge William K. Sessions III.

Court records showed that Farrell’s co-defendant, Eric Meladze, a New Jersey man, was stopped on January 13, 2007 at the Burlington International Airport in possession of over $37,000 in U.S. currency. On May 4, 2007 Farrell and Meladze were arrested in South Burlington. At the time of their arrest, Eric Meladze and Joseph Farrell had over $16,000 in U.S. currency and several hundred OxyContin pills. Another codefendant, George Meladze, also of New Jersey and the brother of Eric Meladze, was arrested on May 31, 2007 in New Jersey. The federal grand jury indicted the Meladze brothers and Farrell on OxyContin trafficking charges, which it alleged started in 2002 and lasted until May, 2007. Farrell pleaded guilty on October 26, 2007. Eric Meladze pleaded guilty on September 5, 2008 and was sentenced to 57 months imprisonment on December 1, 2008. George Meladze pleaded guilty on October 10, 2008 and was sentenced to 63 months imprisonment on March 3, 2009.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Gelber. Farrell was represented by Paul S. Volk, Esq.

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