Anthony "Jak Mac" Whyte, accused as the central figure in a regional drug trafficking operation, is seeking an emergency release from the Donald W. Wyatt federal detention center, where Whyte's attorney told a judge Thursday the coronavirus is out of control.

Whyte, 46, suffers from diabetes and hypertension, putting him at greater risk of severe illness if he contracts COVID-19, according to attorney Jonathan J. Einhorn, whose efforts to have Whyte released to live with a family member have failed several times in U.S. District Court and in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Einhorn said he is seeking the emergency release now because the situation at Wyatt has grown worse. As of Oct. 26, he said the facility reported that 130 of the 537 prisoners had tested positive for the virus, along with 11 staff members. He said Whyte could live with a relative while under house arrest and electronic monitoring.

U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden said he would rule on the emergency motion in the coming days after hearing arguments via Zoom meeting Thursday from Einhorn and U.S. Attorney Natasha Freismuth. Whyte, wearing a mask, signed on from the Central Falls, R.I., detention center where he's been held since April 2019. 

Whyte was indicted along with 26 others by a federal grand jury in March 2019 following a lengthy investigation by federal, state and local agencies. Whyte allegedly obtained heroin, fentanyl and cocaine from Connecticut and beyond and distributed them to others, who sold the drugs to customers and street-level drug dealers.

Many of the cases have been resolved through plea deals, but Whyte is headed for trial on narcotics distribution, money laundering and weapon charges. Jury selection has been delayed several times due to the pandemic, and is now scheduled for April 2021. Whyte faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years if convicted, and may also be deported, since he holds a green card from an undisclosed country, according to testimony.

One of Whyte's co-defendants, Earlene Dudley Jr., 39, of Norwich, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in the drug trafficking ring. On Sept. 30, 2019, Dudley had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.

Freismuth said Whyte is a flight risk who has been caught saying on a monitored phone line that he could cross an international border without going through customs, and who in the past has failed to appear in court twice on other charges. She said he is a risk to public safety based on the quantity of drugs he is accused of distributing: over 400 grams of fentanyl, 5 grams of cocaine and a significant amount of heroin. He is charged with illegal possession of 10 firearms, Freismuth said.

Freismuth said the number of cases at the Rhode Island facility are going down: As of Tuesday, there were 21 active cases of COVID-19 among detainees and 12 among staff members. Two prisoners who had been hospitalized with the virus have returned to Wyatt, Freismuth said.

Judge Bolden said there is no dispute that there is a problem at Wyatt.

"The hardest question in any particular case is (whether) the person is appropriate to be released," he said. "Not only are we dealing with significant drug quantities, but there are also weapon possession charges and charges of money laundering that certainly raise the stakes."

Along with the emergency motion for release of Whyte, Einhorn submitted to the court a letter from a unit manager at the prison saying Whyte has received no disciplinary tickets since he's been incarcerated and has a job helping to keep his unit clean and sanitized.

k.florin@theday.com