Man facing drug charges sees newborn son for first time in federal court
A man charged with operating a large-scale marijuana growing operation in his Hull home laid eyes on his newborn son for the first time in Boston’s federal courthouse Thursday afternoon. David Maglio’s eyes lit up as he walked into Courtroom 24. With his wrists cuffed behind his back, he smiled as he strained to look over the courtroom divider and into the black stroller his wife, Erika Zerkel, was rocking slowly back and forth. Maglio’s attorney, Carmine Lepore, says his client’s child was born last week. Zerkel dabbed her eyes with a brown paper napkin throughout the course of the brief hearing. Maglio was scheduled for a detention hearing, but Lepore asked for a continuance until December 8. “We’re still investigating and preparing for the detention hearing,” he said.Maglio has been charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, using and/or maintaining a place for manufacturing drugs, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.The investigation into Maglio by a local and federal task began in January of this year, according to the criminal complaint, and a warrant on his home was conducted on Saint Patrick’s Day. Because of Maglio’s “extensive criminal record” law enforcement officers created a ruse to lure Maglio out of his home. Undercover agents dressed as Hull Municipal Light Company employees, and approached his home in a company bucket truck, according to the complaint. The undercover officers knocked on Maglio’s door, and when he answered, shirtless, wearing a pair of shorts, they told him they needed to move his car due to utility work. Once Maglio stepped outside, the officers detained him. Inside officers found 100 marijuana plants growing in the basement and the third floor bathroom, as well as 54 plants hanging to dry, and 15.5 pounds of marijuana in plastic bags, according to the complaint.They also seized two semi-automatic pistols, a rifle, and 590 rounds of ammunitions, as well as grow lamps, digital scales, and several cell phones, the complaint states.According to court documents, Maglio has previously been arraigned 136 times, and convicted on criminal charges 36 times. His convictions include possession with intent to distribute a Class B substance; possession of a firearm without a permit and threatening; and assault and battery of a police officer and resisting arrest.
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