The arrests were part of an effort to stem the tide of cocaine trafficking in central Maine
By Gail Geraghty
Staff Writer

PORTLAND – Michael Gilbert, owner of Market Square Restaurant, a popular Paris eatery, and a Lewiston man are facing a federal drug charge.

An affidavit regarding Gilbert was obtained by the Sun Journal Thursday.

The charge, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, came after a sting operation undertaken in Florida by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Two other men, Carlos Alfredo Huertas, 30, and Michael Rodriguez, 59, both of Miami, face the same charge. Both are currently detained in Florida awaiting extradition to Maine.

Gilbert, 30, of South Paris and William Bryant, 33, of Lewiston were charged on May 21 in U.S. District Court in Portland. On June 11, Gilbert waived his right to a preliminary hearing. As of Thursday, no arraignment date had been set.

If convicted, Gilbert and the others face a sentence of at least five years, but not more than 40 years in federal prison.

Their arrests were part of an effort by state and federal agents to stem the tide of cocaine trafficking in central Maine. On June 3, raids in Lewiston, Auburn and elsewhere resulted in the arrests of 19 people on cocaine or crack cocaine charges.

U.S. Special Agent Clem Fisher, in his affidavit supporting the charges against Gilbert and Bryant, said Bryant began supplying cocaine to a “cooperating source,” who told another federal DEA agent, Fernando Cruz. On five separate occasions in April and May in the Lewiston-Auburn area, the source and Cruz bought cocaine from Bryant in increasingly large amounts, the affidavit states.

When Cruz said he wanted to score several kilograms of cocaine, the affidavit states, Bryant asked the source to go with him to Florida to pick it up. After they arrived at the Ft. Lauderdale airport on May 8, Broward County Sheriff’s Office detectives stopped Bryant and asked if they could search his backpack, the affidavit states.

Bryant allowed the search, which yielded $50,580 in cash, including $13,500 that had been prerecorded by DEA agents in previous drug buys, the affidavit states.

Bryant claimed he thought the manila envelopes he was carrying were business documents for his friend, Mike Gilbert, who was waiting for Bryant at the curbside of the airport, the affidavit states.

The men gave inconsistent stories about where the money came from and what it was going to be used for. The detectives seized the money, the affidavit states, and allowed Bryant and Gilbert to go on their way.

The cooperating source later reported back to DEA agents that Gilbert said he was connected to Rodriguez, who had 100 kilograms of cocaine, and that Huertas was his connection, the affidavit states.

“At one point, Gilbert unscrewed the bottoms of aerosol cans and retrieved a white chunky rock of cocaine,” the affidavit states.

Over the next week, Cruz had several recorded phone calls with Bryant and Gilbert, in which Gilbert allegedly said the money seized at the airport was to pay for the kilogram of cocaine that Cruz wanted, the affidavit states.

Gilbert allegedly offered to put up his two cars, both Mercedes, as collateral if Cruz would give him the money to pay for the cocaine, the affidavit states.

On May 19, the affidavit states, Cruz traveled to Florida and met Gilbert. “They negotiated the cocaine transaction in person and over the telephone over the next few days,” and Gilbert introduced Cruz to Huertas.

The warrant for arrest was issued two days later.

ggeraghty@sunjournal.com

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