LEWISTON – The owner of a downtown pizzeria will be in federal court Wednesday afternoon charged with trafficking cocaine in the area.

William J. Bryant, 33, of 65 Sabattus St. was being held at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland Tuesday night charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.

Bryant is the owner of Luiggi’s Pizzeria, located below his apartment at Sabattus and Horton streets.

Federal drug agents arrested Bryant May 21 in downtown Lewiston after a probe into drug trafficking in the Twin Cities area, according to court records.

At a detention hearing the following day, Bryant was ordered held in federal custody.

Undercover work

Drug investigators said the arrest came after a series of undercover purchases were made and confidential informants named Bryant as a source.

More details about the arrest were not available Tuesday as prosecutors prepared their case for Bryant’s court appearance Wednesday.

Because of the amount of cocaine Bryant was allegedly handling, the case was turned over to officials in U.S. District Court instead of state prosecutors.

Police described the arrest as the result of an ongoing investigation involving state and federal drug agents, as well as Lewiston police.

A second man was charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine as part of the same investigation, according to court records. However, details about that arrest were not available. Prosecutors working the case did not return telephone calls Tuesday.

Luiggi’s has been a fixture in Lewiston since 1953. In 1960, the business was expanded at its current location by then owner Louis Talarico, a Lewiston deputy fire chief at the time.

Bryant’s parents, Russell and Elizabeth Bryant, bought Luiggi’s and the property it is on in 1986, according to city records. It was not clear when Bryant took over ownership of the business.

Reached at Luiggi’s Tuesday, a restaurant manager said the arrest of Bryant will not affect business there. The eatery will continue providing the same services it has been offering, he said.

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