Saugus man admits selling painkillers to NE Patriots lineman

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A Saugus man pleaded guilty today in federal court to charges that he sold New England Patriots lineman Nick Kaczur some 300 Oxycontin pills.

Daniel Ekasala entered a guilty plea to charges that were based on three transactions between the two men that were secretly recorded by the US Drug Enforcement Administration this May.

Kaczur is not named in court records in Ekasala's case, but has been identified as the cooperating witness by Ekasala’s defense attorney, Bernard Grossberg of Boston, and two sources briefed on the case.

Kaczur, who was not in the courtroom today, went undercover for the federal anti-drug agency after he was stopped for speeding on the New York State Thruway on April 27 while carrying 202 Oxycontin pills, according to New York State police reports. At the time, Kaczur was returning to Massachusetts from his hometown of Brantford, Ontario. The drugs found on him that day are not part of the case against Ekasala.

Kaczur, who has retained his starting position on the New England Patriots offensive line this season, returned to a New York courtroom in July where misdemeanor charges of drug possession were put on hold, provided the lineman stays out of trouble for six months.

He also paid $355 in fines for speeding.

One of Kaczur’s attorneys said at the time that he would participate in a two-year-long drug program run by the Patriots.

In May, Kaczur met Ekasala three times at different locations – Foxborough, North Attleboro and Sharon – each time handing over $3,900 in marked $100 bills to Ekasala and getting 100 Oxycontin pills in return, according to court records and testimony in court today.

Grossberg asked US District Judge William G. Young to stay Ekasala’s sentence for several weeks so the 35-year-old can complete a union training course, but the judge refused, turning the former State House aide and East Boston native over to the US Marshals.

Ekasala is to be sentenced in December and faces up to 57 months in federal prison.

• Comment
• Permalink
• Email