Revere Men Sentenced for Trafficking Oxycodone

BOSTON – A father and son from Revere were sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for trafficking oxycodone.

Mario Scata, 71, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to three years in prison and two years of supervised release. His son, Manuele Scata, 45, was sentenced by Judge O’Toole to eight years and six months in prison and three years of supervised release. In December 2017, Mario Scata pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute oxycodone and one count of possession with intent to distribute oxycodone. In February 2018, Manuele Scata pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, possession with intent to distribute oxycodone, and use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense.

In 2014 and 2015, agents observed foot and vehicle traffic consistent with street-level drug sales coming and going from the Scata home and from Manuele Scata’s business, D & M Auto Doctor, on Bennington Street in East Boston. While investigating the Scatas’ oxycodone trafficking, Scatas’ pill supplier, Bregu, was identified through surveillance and phone analysis. After obtaining a search warrant to track the precise location of Bregu’s phone, it was determined that every two-to-three weeks, Bregu drove his vehicle from Staten Island to Revere or East Boston, met with one or both of the Scatas, and then returned to Staten Island.

On July 16, 2015, a series of search warrants were executed after tracking Bregu’s phone from Staten Island to East Boston and then watching as Bregu met with Mario and Manuele Scata at D & M Auto Doctor. During the searches, a sophisticated hidden compartment was discovered in Bregu’s vehicle, which contained $37,800. In addition, approximately 1,900 oxycodone pills, a loaded firearm, and a machete were recovered from Manuele Scata’s vehicle and additional oxycodone pills, a hand-written drug ledger, and nearly $12,000 were recovered from the Scatas’ home.

On June 8, 2018, Bregu was sentenced to six years in prison and three years of supervised release after being convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute oxycodone.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Revere Police Chief James Guido; Quincy Police Chief Paul Keenan; and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl of Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit prosecuted the case.