Roslindale Cocaine Ring Lands Two Men in Prison

Two men were sentenced to more than a decade in prison for running a cocaine trafficking ring out of a Roslindale restaurant.

Iskender Kapllani, of Dedham, will serve 15 years in prison, and Tony Bedini, of Rancho Cucamonga, CA, will serve 11 years for running the cocaine ring out of Arbri Cafe in Roslindale. Both men will also be subjected to three years of supervised release.

The men were convicted following a three-week jury trial for conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Prosecutors proved that Kapllani used his restaurant to distribute cocaine throughout Massachusetts, having received the drugs from Bedini in California.

Prosecutors introduced multiple kilograms of cocaine seized from Kapllani, video surveillance and audio recordings of Kapllani and other members of the conspiracy, along with phone, travel and financial records showing that Kapllani, Bedini and other members of the conspiracy were in regular contact to distribute the durgs. Witnessed said Bedini and his California-based partner shipped multiple kilograms of cocaine to Kapllani and other members of his crew over a two-year period for distribution at the Arbri Cafe.

During the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns criticize Kapllani, an Albanian national, for taking advantage of the opportunities he had been given in his adopted country.

“I just add one additional thought, which is, to me, puzzling, that Mr. Kapllani, having been offered asylum by this country, chose to repay the generosity by poisoning his fellow citizens with the distribution of drugs,” Judge Stearns said. “ I think that, in a sense, almost aggravates the nature of the crime itself.”