SALEM – Two Lynn men were indicted Wednesday afternoon on separate cases involving drug crimes by an Essex County grand jury.William Mondello, 51, of 47 Sylvia St., Lynn, is charged with two counts of possession of OxyCodone with the intent to distribute, subsequent offenses.The charges arise out of his arrest in Lynn on March 29 when police say they caught him peddling OxyCodone on Chestnut Street.Police said they seized 23 OxyCodone pills and another four were confiscated by authorities from the buyer.Because Mondello has a prior drug conviction in 2006, he faces a five-year minimum mandatory punishment on each of the two charges.Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Kirshenbaum is assigned to prosecute the case for the state.Also indicted was George Johnson, 45, of 15 Fayette Court, Lynn, charged with trafficking over 14 grams of cocaine for his arrest in Lynn on the night of April 14 when police say they seized two twists of cocaine from his person during a search.A conviction on the charge will net Johnson a three-year minimum mandatory sentence in state prison.Assistant District Attorney Karen Hopwood is prosecuting the case.Indictments are not an indication of guilt, rather it is a legal process that allows a case to be transferred from District Court to Superior Court, allowing for a more severe punishment.
