Owner of Worcester restaurants indicted on drug, laundering charges
The Usual on Shrewsbury Street.
The owner of Worcester restaurants The Usual and The Blackstone Tap has been indicted on charges that he used more than $1 million in drug-sale money to buy and renovate nine properties in Worcester County.
Kevin Perry, a 43-year-old Worcester resident, was arrested Monday and charged with nine counts of money laundering, three counts of aggravated cash structuring, one count of making a false statement on a loan application and one count of distribution of fentanyl, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston.
Perry was held pending a detention hearing following his arraignment.
The Usual, a sandwich shop on Shrewsbury Street, opened last year. Perry also took ownership of The Blackstone Tap last year.
Business incorporation records show The Blackstone Tap to be incorporated under the name of Perry's wife, Stacy Gala. Gala did not return a message for comment left at The Usual on Wednesday.
Both restaurant sites are owned by limited liability corporations. Court records show Perry allegedly used $130,075 to buy The Usual's building at 166 Shrewsbury St. and $111,978 to buy The Blackstone Tap site at 81 Water St.
Perry allegedly used more than $1 million in money he took in from selling drugs, including anabolic steroids, cocaine and fentanyl, in a period from April 2012 to October 2016 to buy and renovate nine properties in Worcester County, according to prosecutors. He also allegedly used the funds to pay for his wedding in 2015.
It isn't the first time Perry has faced drug charges. In 2005, he was convicted in federal court in Massachusetts of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute MDMA, or Ecstasy, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. He was sentenced to time in prison.
Charges of money laundering can result in up to 20 years in prison, and making a false statement on a loan application can bring a sentence of up to 30 years. Fentanyl distribution charges can lead to up to 10 years in prison.
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