Two Men Indicted on Charges Relating to Drug Activity in the Weirton Area

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - A 63 year old El Paso, Texas, resident and a Weirton, West Virginia, resident were named in an Indictment returned on February 5, 2008, by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Wheeling, West Virginia.

United States Attorney Sharon L. Potter announced that DAVID C. BLOTT of El Paso, Texas, and PAUL DIGIRALAMO, of Weirton, West Virginia, were named in a four-count Indictment.

Count One of the Indictment alleges that BLOTT and DIGIRALAMO conspired to distribute marijuana from August 2007 to JANUARY 21, 2008, in Weirton. Count Two of the Indictment alleges that DIGIRALAMO possessed marijuana with the intent to distribute on December 13, 2007, in Weirton. Count Three of the Indictment alleges that BLOTT unlawfully used a telephone to facilitate the conspiracy to distribute marijuana on January 20, 2008. Count Four of the Indictment alleges that BLOTT traveled in interstate commerce to carry on an unlawful activity, that is the conspiracy to distribute marijuana on January 21, 2008.

If convicted, BLOTT and DIGIRALAMO face a maximum exposure of five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 each on Counts One, Two, and Four of the Indictment; and a maximum exposure of four years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 on Count Three of the Indictment.

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard. The case was investigated by the Hancock/Brooke/Weirton Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, consisting of officers from the Weirton Police Department, the Hancock County Sheriff's Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Hancock County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

It should be noted that the charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and not evidence of guilt, and that each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.