Court Upholds Salem Drug Dealer's Conviction

SALEM, MA — An appeals court upheld the conviction of a Salem man who was arrested with a woman for dealing crack cocaine and other drugs in 2014. Julio C. Vittini, 52, had argued there was insufficient evidence showing he sold or possessed crack cocaine when he was arrested Marisol Santiago, 51, of Salem, following an investigation by Salem police.

While working undercover, Salem police officer Thomas Brennan made a series of controlled from Santiago, who acted as a go-between for Vittini. Through surveillance, police identified Vittini and recovered marked $20 bills used in the drug deals when they arrested him.

"Although there was no direct evidence that the defendant possessed or distributed narcotics to Santiago, there was sufficient circumstantial evidence to allow a rational fact finder to infer that he did," the appeals court said in its opinion.