AUGUSTA — A Winslow man who kept drug money for his imprisoned son pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit unlawful drug trafficking.
Robert Delile, 64, was placed on deferred disposition for 12 months and also agreed to forfeit the $2,130 seized from his home on Feb. 14.
If Delile completes 100 hours of community service work over the next year, the felony charge is to be reduced to a misdemeanor unlawful possession of drugs and he would be fined $400. If not, he is to be sentenced on the felony, according to the agreement approved by Justice Donald Marden.
“Mr. Delile has zero criminal history and has been a law-abiding citizen and employed his entire life,” the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Johnathan Nathans, told Marden in explaining why the case was suitable for a deferred disposition arrangement. “This was a brief moment of indiscretion within a limited time period.”
Delile’s attorney, Walter McKee, said, “Mr. Delile was in essence acting as the bank for his son, for lack of a better term.”
McKee said Robert Delile was honorably discharged from the Navy, had been a longtime volunteer in the community and retired after a 30-year career.
“Robert really got roped into this, but he did it,” McKee said. “It was his son who made the request. He called hundreds of times to get him to do this.”
According to Nathans, Delile and his son, Darrick Delile, made a series of phone calls between November 2017 and February 2018 regarding Robert Delile holding the proceeds of drug sales for his son, who is serving an aggravated drug-trafficking sentence at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham. Nathans described other recorded phone calls between Darrick Delile and Jerica Reny.
Nathans told Marden that Reny, 28, of Sidney, drove to Massachusetts, with Seth Taylor of Fairfield as a passenger, to acquire drugs to sell in Waterville, and police recovered almost 60 grams of heroin when she was stopped on Jan. 31, 2018.
Nathans said police worked with a cooperating individual and set up a controlled delivery of money to Robert Delile that he then stored in a safe in his home. Nathans said there were recorded conversations between the father and son about the money left in the basement.
When police executed a search warrant at Robert Delile’s home, they recovered $2,130, Nathans said.
He also told Marden that the other individuals involved face aggravated drug trafficking charges.
Shortly after Robert Delile’s hearing, Reny appeared in court with her attorney, Thomas J. Nale, and pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging her with aggravated trafficking in heroin/fentanyl in connection with the same incident.
Taylor, 27, and Darrick Delile, 39, have been indicted on the same charge.
Betty Adams can be contacted at 621-5631 or at:
badams@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @betadams
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