WOBURN - A Woburn man, Espel Calixto , Jr., a/k/a "Pico" was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. Federal Court in Boston to 188 months in a federal prison on charges of distribution of cocaine.

Calixto, 42, was arrested in a sweep by Woburn Police and federal DEA agents.

They arrested Calixto at the Creston Avenue housing development in August 2004

He was also sentenced to 6 years supervision once he got out of federal prison after the 188 months (15-plus years) sentence.

The Wade Avenue resident has been held by federal authorities since his conviction and his awaiting sentencing.

Residents of Wade Avenue in Woburn - a quiet street extending from Campbell Street to Salem Street adjacent to Woburn Memorial H.S. - have been following the capture, conviction and now the sentencing, noting they did not want the individual back in the neighborhood.

Basically, Calixto was charged with a federal crime of trafficking cocaine in a public housing project.

The case was a major one for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in New England and had ramifications beyond the Woburn boundaries.

An affidavit in August 2004 filed with the federal court complaint said that Calixto sold cocaine to a cooperating witness working with the DEA at the Creston Avenue housing project on various dates in July and August 2004.

According to the complaint, the most recent sale took place August 3, 2004.

Calixto was followed and was arrested inside the housing project on August 2004 amidst a major drug sweep, including the Woburn Police Department.

He initially appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence P. Cohen on August 10 and later convicted of the charges. He faced up to 20 years imprisonment to be followed by at least 3 years of supervised release and a $1 million fine.

"We don't know just what federal prison he will be sent to," said a member of the staff of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston after yesterdays sentencing.

"He could go anywhere from the midwest to Leavenworth, Kansas or to where there is room," said the spokesperson. There is no federal prison in Massachusetts. A check of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons web site in the future is suggested, she said.

At the time in August 2004, Woburn Police Chief Philip Mahoney hailed the capture of Calixto as a major one in Woburn and the area and of removing him from the drug scene. Similar comments came from U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, as well as the Special Agent in Charge, Mark B. Trouville.

Of great concern in Woburn was the safety of the people who lived at the Creston Avenue Housing Project.

The entire prosecution was pursued by Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Sullivan's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Unit.

Calixto was turned over to U.S. Marshals yesterday after the sentencing.