February 29, 2008

FOUR PEOPLE ARRESTED FOR CONSPIRACY TO
DISTRIBUTE A KILOGRAM OF COCAINE

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated four individuals have been charged by criminal complaint in federal court with conspiracy to distribute a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cocaine. Shoubert Beauchamp, 28, of Warner, New Hampshire; Jean Verdiner, 30, of Concord, New Hampshire; Paul Harvey, 47, of Williamstown, Vermont and Linnie Harvey, 48, of Burlington, Vermont, were arrested by the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force yesterday in Berlin, Vermont. The Defendants appeared today in federal court and were ordered detained pending a bail hearing next week.

According to court records, Paul Harvey told a person cooperating with the Task Force that he could get a kilogram of cocaine for $32,000. After a number of phone calls, Paul Harvey rode with the cooperator to the Hilltop Inn in Berlin. Once there, Verdiner entered the vehicle Harvey and the cooperator were in and handed a kilogram of cocaine to the cooperator. Police then moved in and arrested Harvey and Verdiner. Linnie Harvey, who had come out of the Inn with Verdiner and then driven her own truck over to the cooperator's vehicle was also arrested. Seized from her vehicle was an ounce of cocaine and a wide assortment of needles, crack pipes and other paraphernalia. Beauchamps, who was acting as a lookout, was arrested after fleeing through the Berlin Inn and emerging in a back parking lot.

All the defendants face a potential sentence of not less than five years or more than 40 years in prison, and up to a $2,000,000 fine. Any actual sentence will be determined by the sentencing court, pursuant to the Sentencing Guidelines and federal law. United States Attorney Thomas D. Anderson cautioned that the criminal complaint is only a method of bringing charges and is not proof of guilt. He noted that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

United States Attorney Anderson commended the work of the Vermont State Police in this investigation. "The hard work of the Vermont State Police Drug Task Forces in identifying, investigating and arresting large scale drug traffickers cannot be overstated," commented Anderson. "Vermonters are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of investigators," stated Anderson.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James Gelber.