A Massachusetts man has been sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bangor for distributing cocaine at the Maine Mall in South Portland.

Jorge R. Sanchez-Gonzalez, 42, originally from Cuba and now from Haverhill, Mass., was sentenced Thursday to two months in prison and three years of supervised release. He also was ordered not to possess a firearm or dangerous weapon, to abstain from intoxicants and illegal drugs, and to undergo substance abuse counseling.

In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Morton A. Brody acknowledged that the defendant had accepted responsibility for his crime and had cooperated with the federal government “to some extent, though not wholeheartedly.”

The judge also noted that it was not the first offense for Sanchez-Gonzalez, but the defendant had appeared to have gained some insight into his addiction problems.

As the sentence hearing began, Sanchez-Gonzalez, aided by a Spanish-speaking interpreter, told Brody that he was feeling well now that he was free of drugs and thanked the government “and everyone who has helped me.”

The defendant asked that he be able to receive drug treatment wherever he may be sent to serve his sentence.

Sanchez-Gonzalez pleaded guilty in November without a plea agreement to taking part in a drug deal in June 1991 in South Portland. The defendant, known as “Little George,” accompanied another Cuban man, Nivaldo Mounoz Pasada, known as “Big George,” who has pleaded innocent to related charges.

Sanchez-Gonzalez handed over a bag containing four small plastic bags of cocaine, about 2 ounces total, to a state drug agent for $2,000.

During Thursday’s hearing, defense attorney Gary Growe of Bangor said his client had come to the United States during the 1980 Mariel boat lift from Cuba. Saying that Sanchez-Gonzalez was neither a violent nor assaultive person, he said the defendant became involved in the June 1991 incident to get money for his heroin problem.

Pointing out that Sanchez-Gonzalez had been jailed since August 1991, Growe commented, “It’s a rare defendant who, after being incarcerated, thanks the government.”

Timothy Wing, assistant U.S. attorney, said that the defendant had a 1990 Massachusetts conviction for drug possession and had a “significant substance abuse problem.” Asking for the two-year sentence, Wing said he hoped it would be a deterrent to Sanchez-Gonzalez.