The owner of the Canton diner Sip & Bite, who was previously charged in a federal cocaine sting in Virginia, has pleaded guilty in the case, federal court records show.
Anthony Vasiliades, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine last month. He faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $1 million fine.
Federal court records list him as an owner of the Sip & Bite diner on Boston Street, known for its crab cakes and once featured on the television show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives."
Authorities said Vasiliades and co-defendant Minas Politis tried to buy cocaine unknowingly from a confidential source.
Drug Enforcement Administration and Arlington, Va., police were investigating a drug ring in November when a confidential informant said Vasiliades and Politis contacted him and asked him to find a cocaine dealer they could buy from.
They later met the informant in D.C. to discuss the purchase, and during phone conversations in January, agreed to pay $50,000 for two kilograms of cocaine. Vasiliades and Politis then met an undercover detective posing as a drug dealer in a parking lot in Virginia where they gave $50,000 in exchange for the cocaine, and law enforcement watching the transaction arrested them.
Vasiliades' attorney did not immediately to respond to a voice message seeking comment on Thursday. His sentencing is scheduled for June 12.
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