Milton Man Pleads Guilty To Running Illegal Tobacco Scheme

MILTON, MA — Attorney General Maura Healey announced that a Milton man pleaded guilty to running an illegal tobacco distribution network out of his home and a self-storage unit on Wednesday.

James Indelicato, 53, pleaded guilty to two counts of Tax Evasion, one count of Money Laundering and one count Conspiracy on June 16 in Suffolk Superior Court.

According to the press release, a referral from the Illegal Tobacco Task Force launched an investigation into Indelicato's scheme that ended with Indelicato being indicted in October 2019 for his illegal tobacco distribution network alongside Paul Veneto, of Braintree.

“This defendant orchestrated an intricate scheme in order to distribute tobacco illegally in various communities in our state,” Healey said. “Along with our state partners, we were able to successfully dismantle this operation and prosecute the individual running it.”

The Attorney General claims that Indelicato allegedly sold the tobacco products that had taxes on them totaling over $360,000 from 2016 to 2018 - without paying any of them. She also suggested that he instead used the money to buy more illegal products and push his scheme further along.

Healey said Indelicato was able to run his scheme through the front of his business, MetroMax Wholesale, and keep it afloat by laundering cash paid by retailers and using money orders to not be traced.

The case against his partner Paul Veneto is ongoing.