Informer is held on drug charges
His tips led to arrest of 2 troopers
He's the same informant whose cooperation led to the arrests two months ago of a Massachusetts state trooper, a retired trooper, and two others on charges of selling OxyContin and collecting drug debts.
But yesterday, it was the informant, Stephen G. Kalil, 49, of Dorchester, who was hauled into federal court in handcuffs to face charges that he was selling drugs before, during, and after his cooperation against trooper Mark V. Lemieux, retired trooper Joseph M. Catanese, and the others.
Last month, Kalil told investigators he was traveling to Florida "because he felt some measure of safety there" after being exposed as an informant here, according to a State Police affidavit filed in federal court.
But when Kalil landed back at Logan International Airport in Boston Monday, he drove straight to a Federal Express facility and allegedly dropped off a package stuffed with drugs to be shipped to an address on Martha's Vineyard, according to the affidavit.
Kalil was also charged with illegal possession of firearms stemming from the seizure of three guns from his Dorchester home in January.
Kalil, who has a criminal record for assaults, drug dealing, and larceny dating to the early 1980s, is prohibited from owning a firearm because he is a convicted felon.
Boston lawyer Tracy A. Miner, who was appointed by the court to represent Kalil, called Kalil's arrest "another example of the government's misuse of its informants."
"According to the affidavit, he was found with guns [in January] and drugs [in November] and was allowed to continue to be an informant ," she said.
Christina DiIorio Sterling, a spokeswoman for the US attorney's office, said the criminal complaint unsealed yesterday against Kalil "reflects our commitment to charge individuals who commit crimes, regardless of their status with any law enforcement agency."
But Lemieux's lawyer, Paul V. Kelly, called Kalil "a walking disaster" who has no credibility.
"I am not at all surprised to learn he double-crossed his handlers and was dealing drugs," Kelly said.
US Magistrate Judge Joyce London Alexander ordered Kalil held without bail until a hearing Wednesday on whether he should remain in custody until the case is resolved.
After Kalil was stopped at Logan Airport last November, attempting to board a flight to Fort Lauderdale with a large quantity of OxyContin pills and $21,149 in cash, he told State Police and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents that he was an informant against Lemieux.
An investigation, which included recorded conversations and the use of other cooperating witnesses, led to charges that Lemieux had asked Kalil to put his girlfriend, Tara Drummey, to work as a courier for Kalil's OxyContin distribution ring.
Drummey was one of the four charged. 