Commonwealth v. Gratereaux

The defendant was convicted of conspiring to traffic in 200 grams or more of cocaine. The charge resulted from a “reverse sting” operation wherein State Trooper Grassia posed as a drug seller while a paid informant, Pena, referred potential customers to him. Pena introduced Grassia to the defendant, who had agreed to drum up a third party to make a buy from Grassia. Two days later, police arrested the defendant at the scene of a sale of just under two kilograms of cocaine from Grassia to such a third party. On appeal, the defendant challenges the denials of two pretrial motions to dismiss and…