Keene man faces federal drug charges | The Brattleboro Reformer

By Bob Audette, Brattleboro Reformer

KEENE, N.H. — A former Hinsdale, New Hampshire man is in federal custody, accused of selling fentanyl on a number of occasions to a confidential informant in Keene.

According to documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, Michael Steever, 40, who most recently resided on Beech Street in Keene, came to the attention of the Keene Police Department after receiving information from a confidential informant that he was distributing large quantities of fentanyl in the greater Keene area.

Benjamin Slocum, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, wrote in an affidavit filed with the court, that the CI informed investigators that Steever allegedly traveled to Lawrence, Mass., to purchase “bulk amounts of fentanyl from his source of supply.”

Upon return to Keene, the CI said Steever divided up the fentanyl into smaller amounts to distribute “to local customers.”

On April 8, at the direction of investigators, the CI purchased $275 worth of fentanyl, about 10 grams, from Steever, wrote Slocum.

Then, a week later, on April 15, the CI purchased 4.5 grams from Steever for $170, this time at Steevers’ apartment on Beech Street.

On April 22, 28 and 30, the CI purchased another $825 worth of fentanyl in total, another 30 grams, at various locations around Keene.

According to the Keene Sentinel, on Aug. 13, 2018, Steever was sentenced in Cheshire County Superior Court to five to 10 years in jail, all suspended, for conspiracy to sell heroin. He received another 12 months, all suspended for possession of fentanyl.

Bob Audette can be contacted at 802-254-2311, ext. 151, or raudette@reformer.com.