BANGOR, Maine — A local man was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court to 18 months in prison for distributing cocaine, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Kliton Xhemali, 33, of Bangor also was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
A native of Albania who is a permanent resident of the U.S., Xhemali was arrested in September 2015 and pleaded guilty to distributing cocaine in March 2016.
By pleading guilty, Xhemali admitted that he sold an ounce of cocaine on April 2, 2015, to a government informant who was working with an undercover agent of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to a press release issued Friday by the U.S. attorney’s office.
In imposing the sentence, U.S. District Judge John Woodcock described Xhemali’s decision to turn to drug dealing as “mystifying,” the release said. The court observed that the defendant came from a good family in Albania who provided him with opportunities in this country including a college education.
“To whom much has been given, much is expected,” the judge said.
Woodcock also told Xhemali that “you used your gifts to distribute poison to the people of this area,” the release said.
He faced up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
Xhemali had been held without bail since his arrest.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.