BANGOR – The Rhode Island man accused of being a supplier for a cocaine ring that operated in the Lincoln-Lee area pleaded not guilty Tuesday to drug conspiracy, money laundering and Social Security fraud in U.S. District.

Laurent “Larry” Provost, 60, of Woonsocket, R.I., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk in her conference room in Bangor by video teleconference. Provost and his Portland attorney, Mary Davis, were in a courtroom in U.S. District Court in Portland.

Provost waived his right to a detention hearing and agreed to be held without bail until his case is resolved. He was expected to be held at Two Rivers Regional Jail in Wiscasset.

He was arrested earlier this month in Rhode Island along with 10 other people – six in Maine, one in Alaska and one in Costa Rica – by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for allegedly being part of a cocaine distribution ring that stretched from central America to northern Penobscot County.

Nancy Squeglia, 51, of East Millinocket; Richard “Rat” Russell, 48, of Lincoln; and Preston Chubbuck, 43, of Springfield were ordered held without bail after their arrests.

Donald “Donnie” Russell, 50, of Lincoln; Troy Littlefield, 42, of Oakfield; Robert Donath, 28, of Lincoln; and Brent “Cowboy” Noyes, 57, of Lincoln and Daniel “Danny” Littlefield, 49, of Lee were released last week on bail with conditions that included no contact with the other defendants.

All have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Russells are brothers, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Bangor, and the Littlefields are related.

Jeffrey Polk, 35, of Anchorage, Alaska, was arrested and is being held in that state. He is expected to be returned to Maine before the end of month. Polk has ties to the Lincoln-Lee area but was working on a oilrig in northern Alaska when he was arrested.

It may take longer to get Michael Mayer, 54, formerly of Jupiter, Fla., into court because he is living in Costa Rica. Mayer is charged with being the other supplier behind the operation that distributed cocaine in the Lincoln-Lee area. Prosecutors are working on extraditing him to the U.S.

A trial of all defendants has been set for September in federal court in Bangor.

A dozen people were indicted in November by a federal grand jury in Bangor on information provided by Chubbuck as well as details obtained from other sources including cell phone, hotel and wire transfer records, and a Lee man serving a 10-year term in federal prison in Pennsylvania.

jharrison@bangordailynews.net

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