BURLINGTON – A former registered nurse, who admitted he allowed his Rutland residence to be used for unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distributing and using crack cocaine, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison.

And there are more legal problems coming for Daniel McSwiggan, 52, of Rutland, Vermont.

McSwiggan is due for arraignment in Vermont Superior Court on charges of sexual assault and unlawful restraint on Aug. 25, Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan said Tuesday.

The two felony charges, stemming from June 2024, were put on hold until the federal drug case was resolved on Monday afternoon, Sullivan told the Rutland Herald.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Christina Reiss imposed a 24-month prison term on Monday and said it would be followed by 2 years of federal supervised release conditions.  Reiss said prosecutors were being lenient in the case and had agreed to cap the maximum sentence at 32 months.

Defense lawyer Jordan Handy had fought for a time-served sentence for the roughly 13 months McSwiggan has been detained on federal gun and drug charges.  Handy also suggested one year of supervised release conditions.

McSwiggan’s nursing license is suspended, but he hoped to resume work in a related field, Handy said.

McSwiggan rented and occupied a residence at 31 East St. in Rutland during the summer of 2024 and used it – and allowed others to use it – for crack cocaine, including distributing the illegal drug, officials said.

The East Street home had been rented as an Airbnb by McSwiggan after his home on Cram Road in Bridgewater was damaged by fire, Detective Cpl. Tyler Tavares said in court papers.  The East Street home was known for drug use and possible sex trafficking of women, he said in a court affidavit.

McSwiggan was caught on security video in what appears to be firing a gunshot at his home during the early morning hours of June 24, 2024 at a man identified as “Slim,” who police say is known to traffic in drugs, records show.

During an earlier detention hearing Assistant U.S. Attorney Corrine Smith showed three video clips, including McSwiggan going out to his truck about 3:13 a.m. to retrieve a rifle and load it. He then walked around the outside of his residence and went back inside.

A Black man wearing a white tank top shirt went to the truck, looked inside and walked away. He retrieved a suitcase and began to throw rocks at the residence. McSwiggan later fired a shot in his direction, according to Smith.

U.S. Homeland Security Investigations had its Boston-based Special Response Team travel to Rutland as federal agents conducted the high-risk pre-dawn raid  at McSwiggan’s home on July 2, 2024.

McSwiggan was initially charged with being an unlawful user of controlled substances while possessing multiple firearms.

He possessed firearms while involved in using crack cocaine, according to an HSI Special Agent in a court affidavit.

McSwiggan, who was a professional nurse for 23 years, had worked at the Rutland Regional Medical Center until he was terminated in April 2024. 

He arrived in Rutland from Staten Island to great fanfare when Bayada Home Health Care issued a September 2019 news release, including on Facebook that he was bringing 20-plus years in various nursing capacities to Vermont.

During the court-ordered search at the residence, law enforcement recovered a Savage Model 10 .308 caliber camouflage rifle with scope, a Ruger 10/22 .22 caliber rifle, a muzzleloader, 282 rounds of ammunition, cocaine base, and drug paraphernalia.

Investigators said there has been considerable police attention at the house in the past.

HSI and the Rutland City Police also were aware of a truck registered to McSwiggan and his girlfriend being at 130 Bellevue Avenue “known to law enforcement as a high drug activity residence for several years,” an investigator said in court papers.

HSI and Rutland Police visited the defendant at his home in the spring and again on May 6, 2024 when a woman reported the defendant had both cocaine and a firearm at the residence, court records note. A gun was found, but no drugs were in plain view.

Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher praised the investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Rutland City and Town Police, Vermont State Police, and the Vermont Drug Task Force.