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Food wasn't the only thing on the menu at defunct Roslindale restaurant

A federal judge last week sentenced Iskender Kapllani, owner of the defunct Arbri Cafe on Belgrade Avenue, to 15 1/2 years in federal prison following his conviction for running a cocaine ring that distributed the drugs out of the restaurant.

Kapllani, a Dedham resident who came to the US as a refugee from Albania, was convicted in May along with a California man on charges they ran a cocaine-distribution ring, made up largely of Albanian-Americans and Albanian nationals, in which coke from California was shipped to Roslindale for sale.

According to the US Attorney's office in Boston:

At trial, prosecutors introduced kilograms of cocaine seized from Kapllani; recordings of Kapllani and other members of the conspiracy; video surveillance at the Arbri Café of meetings between Kapllani and members of the conspiracy; phone, travel and financial records showing that Kapllani, [fellow drug runner Tony] Bedini and other members of the conspiracy were in regular contact; drug-related intercepts from a wiretap on Kapllani’s cellphone; and the testimony of cooperating witnesses and defendants who described how for nearly two years, Bedini and his California-based partner shipped multiple kilograms of cocaine to Kapllani and other members of his crew for distribution at the Arbri Cafe.

This is Kapllani's second federal conviction - in 1997, he was found guilty of running what the feds said was "a multi-state effort to steal high-end automobiles, alter their VIN numbers, and re-sell them."

At his sentencing on the coke charges, Judge Richard Stearns noted how Kapllani came to the US:

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. I think that, in a sense, almost aggravates the nature of the crime itself.

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PDF icon Indictment60.67 KB
PDF icon Government sentencing memo36.58 KB


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Comments

Cue the "See? Refugees are dangerous!" rhetoric.

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Dedham is hive of scum and villainy.

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That side of Belgrade Avenue is a risky place to open a food place (in addition to the succession of places where Arbri used to be, let's not forget the fire that took out MJ's and Larry's in that space a couple doors down that, to this day, remains unused except for when somebody runs for mayor and opens a campaign office there).

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That side of Belgrade was where the original Home Market was , owned by A Greek , who had a accomplished son that was a Headmaster of a fine school in Boston.

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That I would never dare try to spell because I would always get it wrong in the past?

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A-man , go to the head of the class............

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Ah yes, good Ol' Mr. Cont....

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Two sons one a
Doctor and the other a Headmaster last name was Contapasis I think that's how it is spelled

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Contompasis

;-)

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the storefronts for a church service on Sundays.

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(I suppose no ethnic group is immune from bad guys ... )

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a San Marinan mob.

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That place morphed from Albanian into the Boston Brickyard and they had great pizza. The last couple of times we went there, the place had a weird - something illegal is going on - vibe. People who worked there, but weren't on duty, were hanging around mysteriously. It just felt dangerous and we stopped going.

P.S. We went 3 or 4 times when it first opened as Albanian (good food) and I made it a point to always order the Albanian beer on the menu which they NEVER had (not once.) It became a little in-joke that they always said they had it, but never really did.

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was clearly the code word for cocaine but they though you were undercovers so didn't sell you any.

In other Balkan food news, I've been to Effie's Kitchen on South Street and I would be very surprised if they are running drugs out of that place. Seems like a true mom and pop operation.

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....not South St.

BTW, how's the food? Looking forward to trying them.

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My bad for only living here for 11 years. South St, Washington and Centre Street are all hilarious in terms of cartographical logic.

Food was tasty. I recommend it.

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Knew about the drug activity. Supposedly 'other services' were also on the menu. Guess there was not enough evidence to add to the charges.

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Well duh. Of course the place was used for illegal activities. There was never anyone in it except for the same men day in and day out.

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He should be deported once he completes his jail time. Rescind his asylum.

He had two chances to live a respectable life in the United States. Time for him to live elsewhere and deal with the consequences.

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If you're going to deport him, why keep him in prison first for a non-violent crime?

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