From: Boston.com
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—A Massachusetts man accused of participating in a contraband cigarette ring that cost Rhode Island an estimated $5.7 million in tax revenue is due to face a federal judge.
An arraignment is set for Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Providence for Mohamad Mohamad of Cambridge.
Court records show Mohamad signed a plea agreement last week and agreed to admit to bringing more than 10,000 contraband cigarettes into Rhode Island.
The plea agreement says when Mohamad was arrested on Nov. 8, 2011, he had nearly three million cigarettes worth more than $500,000 in Rhode Island cigarette taxes.
The agreement says prosecutors have agreed to recommend a lesser sentence for Mohamad. He faces up to five years in prison.
