Middlesex Sheriff's Department Sergeant Guilty on Cocaine Charges

A sergeant with the Middlesex County Sheriff's Department was found guilty Wednesday on charges that he received money and cocaine from an undercover state trooper, according to a press release from the Middlesex County District Attorney's office.

Michael Dell'Isola, 52, of Somerville, was found guilty after a six-day jury trial in Middlesex Superior Court, the press release says.

According to a statement from Middlesex County District Attorney Gerard Leone, "This defendant abused his position of authority by participating in illegal drug activities while on duty as a sergeant in the Middlesex Sheriff's Department."

According to the DA's office, Dell'Isola was pressuring an inmate to provide him with money and cocaine and, in an investigation into the matter, state police followed several phone calls in which Dell'Isola told an undercover officer he wanted the money and drugs.

On May 2, 2011, Dell'Isola met with an undercover officer at a coffee shop in Woburn, and the trooper handed Dell'Isola a coffee cup filled with cocaine and $500, the announcement says. He was subsequently arrested.

In court Wednesday, Middlesex Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Fahey sentenced Dell'Isola to one year in prison, six months to be served, and the remainder suspended for five years following probation conditions, which includes attending a drug treatment program, according to the announcement.