{"id":3924,"date":"2013-02-06T15:11:06","date_gmt":"2013-02-06T20:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=3924"},"modified":"2013-02-06T15:31:38","modified_gmt":"2013-02-06T20:31:38","slug":"cocaine-trafficker-gets-15-to-30-year-prison-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=3924","title":{"rendered":"Cocaine-trafficker gets 15- to 30-year prison term"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Coatesville man, 25, dispensed more than 14,000 doses weekly, authorities said\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/span><\/strong>, Managing Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Phillip<\/a>

Phillip DiMatteo, 25, of Coatesville, received a 15- to 30-year prison sentence for trafficking in cocaine.<\/p><\/div>\n

The lure of cash \u2013 an estimated\u00a0 $35,000 in profits per week – proved too powerful to deter a 25-year-old Coatesville man, despite a previous drug-dealing arrest at age 16, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Calling Phillip DiMatteo a scourge on the community, Deputy District Attorney Stephen J. Kelly asked Chester County Court Judge Phyllis R. Streitel to sentence him on Wednesday to at least 30 years in prison.\u00a0 Kelly said investigators believe DiMatteo\u2019s weekly sales funneled 14,285 doses of cocaine into the community.<\/p>\n

Defense attorney Evan Kelly countered that DiMatteo was not the kingpin prosecutors described. That individual, Luis Rodriguez-Cruz of Philadelphia, \u201cthe one supplying Coatesville\u201d with cocaine, recently received a 15- to 30-year sentence. Plus, DiMatteo, a lowly lieutenant in the operation, accepted responsibility by pleading guilty, sparing the government a trial, he said.<\/p>\n

After listening to argument and pleas for clemency from the defendant and his mother, Donna Burgess, the judge imposed a 15- to 30-year sentence. Although the penalty more closely matched the defense request, the judge echoed the prosecutor\u2019s belief that DiMatteo – whose neck tattoo says \u2018\u201dtrust no one\u201d – posed a grave threat to others.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrugs are a scourge on society today, and you\u2019re part of the problem,\u201d Streitel said to DiMatteo. \u201cYou\u2019re an enabler for all the people down the chain from you.\u201d\u00a0 The judge explained that drug-dealers prey on the weaknesses and addictions of others, negatively impacting the community with thefts, burglaries and robberies.<\/p>\n

The judge said she was mindful that estimates of a drug-dealer\u2019s sales can get inflated; however, even if the purported dosage units in DiMatteo\u2019s case were halved or quartered, the totals would remain substantial. \u201cThere\u2019s no way we can look at this amount and say it\u2019s anything close to minor,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Streitel expressed surprise that DiMatteo pursued drug trafficking when his own father died from a drug overdose when he was 7. Even worse, he put his children, aged 3 to 5, \u00a0at risk. \u201cYou have three little kids, and you were selling right out of the home,\u201d she said. \u201cIt amazes me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Streitel dismissed the prosecutor\u2019s argument that DiMatteo\u2019s criminal activities and subsequent treatment as a juvenile merited a stiffer penalty; however, she also rejected the defense contention that DiMatteo was likely to reform now that he\u2019s had a wake-up call.<\/p>\n

The judge said he had several that failed to resonate, pointing out that he was robbed by three armed, masked men on April 10, 2010. \u201cThat right there should have been a wake-up call,\u201d Streitel said. \u201cIt\u2019s a dangerous business you\u2019ve engaged in, and you know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burgess told the judge that she \u201clived for\u201d her three children, adding that her late husband Frank was a \u201cloving father\u201d despite his drug habit. As for her son Phil, she said, \u201cI had to let him go in order for him to become a man.\u201d She said the family is ready to support him. \u201cWe will do everything and anything to help him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Addressing the court, DiMatteo said that he has \u201clost everything and almost everybody\u201d during his 28 months of incarceration. \u201cI just pray that I get a second chance to turn my life around and take care of my kids,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the two-hour hearing, Stephen Kelly said, \u201cWe have to accept the decision by the court.\u201d Evan Kelly said that he felt the sentence was fair and that he appreciated the time the judge took to review the voluminous records. He said he believed Streitel gave DiMatteo credit for accepting responsibility. \u201cHe\u2019ll have another shot at life,\u201d Evan Kelly said of his client. \u201cIt\u2019s up to Mr. DiMatteo to take advantage of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the half-dozen members of law-enforcement who attended the proceeding was former Chester County Detective Sgt. Joseph Daniels. Even though he retired, Daniels said he wanted to recognize the dedication and hard work of \u00a0members of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area unit, a team of\u00a0 federal, state and local law-enforcement.\u00a0 \u201cMy best time in law enforcement was working with these guys,\u201d Daniels said.<\/p>\n

According to court records, DiMatteo appeared on investigators\u2019 radar during a probe that began in the fall of 2009 and focused on an organization headed by Rodriguez-Cruz. DiMatteo was identified as a sub-distributor for Rodriguez-Cruz, and investigators got enough evidence from controlled buys by informants to warrant a nonconsensual wiretap.<\/p>\n

After Rodriguez-Cruz was incarcerated, DiMatteo pursued other sources of cocaine, widening the investigators\u2019 net; more than 20 others have been prosecuted, including DiMatteo\u2019s live-in girlfriend, Erin Taylor,\u00a0 records said.<\/p>\n

DiMatteo was arrested Oct.\u00a0 22, 2010, and immediately cut a deal with police: He would permit them to monitor an imminent drug deal. However, when he was released to follow through on his promise, he fled. He was re-arrested by U.S. marshals in Downingtown on Oct. 28, 2010, records said.<\/p>\n

In his sentencing memorandum, Stephen Kelly said that although police know DiMatteo made enormous profits, they were unable to seize any assets and believe they are hidden. DiMatteo lived in publicly subsidized housing in the Regency Park apartments and placed his children in publicly subsidized day care, Kelly said.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Coatesville man, 25, dispensed more than 14,000 doses weekly, authorities said\u00a0 By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times The lure of cash \u2013 an estimated\u00a0 $35,000 in profits per week – proved too powerful to deter a 25-year-old Coatesville man, despite a previous drug-dealing arrest at age 16, authorities said. Calling Phillip DiMatteo a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,1],"tags":[1477,1478,24,1476,1474,1479,1475],"class_list":["post-3924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","category-uncategorized","tag-chester-county-court-judge-phyllis-r-streitel","tag-chester-county-detective-sgt-joseph-daniels","tag-coatesville","tag-defense-attorney-evan-kelly","tag-deputy-district-attorney-stephen-j-kelly","tag-high-intensity-drug-trafficking-area-unit","tag-phillip-dimatteo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}