The arrests began in December and continued Thursday. Most were arrested on a charge of conspiracy to sell methamphetamine. “You just want to wring his neck,” Howaniec said. Thirteen people have been arrested on drug charges in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts after multiple agencies conducted a months-long drug trafficking investigation. His attorney, James Howaniec, said last year that when he is high, Rioux-Poulios is “miserable to deal with.” He’s sarcastic and unpleasant. Wing noted in the arrest affidavit that the foil is often used to smoke drugs, including opiates.Īs part of the guilty plea in the 2019 case, Rioux-Poulios was released on time served and was placed on two years of probation that prohibited him from possessing or using drugs.ĭuring the July 2021 sentencing for the 2019 case, Rioux-Poulios’ attorney said his client has a “serious, serious drug addiction,” the Sun Journal reported. Police say when they arrested Rioux-Poulios this month, they found a folded piece of aluminum foil in his pants pocket that had a burnt residue on it. Rioux-Poulios is being held at Oxford County Jail on six felony counts related to the March 4 chase. In that case, a 70-year-old Norway man died after Rioux-Poulios rear ended his vehicle, sending it tumbling sideways into a tree. Rioux-Poulios pleaded guilty last year to killing a man with his car during a 2019 police chase that also resulted in a crash. The officials also promised a 10-year review of old cases to correct any other failures. Since his arrest, the BMV, the state court system and prosecutors have agreed on a new system to ensure no other driver’s serious criminal conviction related to driving slips by unnoticed. Rioux-Poulios should have had his license suspended before the March 4 chase, but it never went into effect because of a systemic bureaucratic error in how the courts and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles share information about convictions that should result in suspensions. As officers waited for a judge to review and sign off on the second warrant, the homeowners arrived on the scene. Once inside, police found evidence of an ongoing drug trafficking operation and obtained a second warrant to search the home for drugs, state police said. When officers arrived at the home for the search, two people tried to leave through a back door. But in the sticks of the midcoast, a loose cartel of freewheeling, twenty-something drug dealers was building an empire until one of the state’s most elaborate and far-reaching undercover operations brought it all crashing down. In 1984, cocaine trafficking in Maine was considered an urban problem. When he was taken into custody, Rioux-Poulios denied being the driver and said someone else had been driving, but he wouldn’t say who, the arrest affidavit states. The 1980s Drug Bust That Shook Midcoast Maine. It’s not clear why they needed the clothing, but it may be connected to efforts to prove that Rioux-Poulios was in fact behind the wheel before police arrested him. Police knew Rioux-Poulios previously had been associated with the address and he was arrested close by following the chase this month. Troopers and members of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force went to 11 Long View Drive in Oxford on Wednesday to look for clothing associated with Rioux-Poulios, state police said.
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