Pubdate: Tue, 01 Aug 2000
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2000 The New York Times Company
Contact:  229 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036
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Author: Andrew Jacobs

STUDENT JAILED IN A DRUG CASE HANGS HIMSELF

NEPTUNE, N.J., July 31 -- Kenneth Gregorio and Brian Juliano did not fit 
the profile of the street-hardened drug dealer. As a criminal justice major 
at nearby Monmouth University, Mr. Juliano knew he and his classmate were 
in deep trouble on Saturday night when law enforcement officials charged 
them with the possession and intended sale of 49,000 tablets of Ecstasy, 
the dance-club drug that has become increasingly popular with young 
suburbanites.

Just a few hours after the students were taken to the Neptune Police 
Station in handcuffs, Mr. Gregorio, 23, a communications major, was found 
dead in his cell. He had hanged himself with the drawstring from his sweat 
pants, the police said.

Although they would not officially speculate on why Mr. Gregorio took his 
own life, investigators and prosecutors privately suggested that his 
suicide might have been a response to recent state legislation that 
significantly stiffened penalties for possessing, selling or manufacturing 
the drug, much of which is smuggled here from the Netherlands, Britain and 
Israel.

Under a law signed by Gov. Christine Todd Whitman in early July, the sale 
of Ecstasy is a first-degree crime with a sentence of up to 20 years, 
comparable to the penalties for selling heroin and cocaine.

Previously, distributing or possessing Ecstasy was a third-degree offense, 
and until the mid-1980's it was not even illegal in New Jersey.

Once largely associated with big-city clubs and European raves, Ecstasy has 
become a part of suburban youth culture, alarming parents and law 
enforcement officials. In 1998, more than 750,000 pills were seized by the 
United States Customs Service. Last year, the number was 3 million.

"Ecstasy use is exploding in New Jersey," said Paul Zoubek, first assistant 
state attorney general. "It's something we're very concerned about."

Investigators said they thought most of the pills seized when Mr. Gregorio 
and Mr. Juliano were arrested last weekend were bound for clubs along the 
Jersey Shore, where the number of Ecstasy arrests and overdoses has risen 
sharply in the last few years. They estimated that the pills, which cost $5 
to make and between $20 and $30 for a person to buy, had a total street 
value of about $1.5 million.

It was the second-largest seizure of Ecstasy in the state, officials said. 
(About 200,000 tablets were found in a suitcase at Newark International 
Airport last year.)

"It's shocking that these two kids were dealing in such heavy quantities," 
said Capt. Edward Green of the Neptune Police Department. "But then again 
there is a huge market now, young kids who are just scarfing this stuff up."

Investigators said they were trying to determine where Mr. Gregorio and Mr. 
Juliano had bought the pills and whether they were part of a larger group 
of dealers. They said the two men had rented a self-storage unit on Route 
66 near here, where they kept a duffel bag containing 45,000 pills. In 
addition, 4,000 Ecstasy pills, 6 pounds of marijuana and $4,450 in cash 
were found in Mr. Gregorio's car, they said.

Robert A. Honecker Jr., an assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, said 
investigators were led to the storage center after a Neptune man whose 
wallet had been stolen notified the police that his driver's license had 
been used to rent space. "The guy got a billing notice," Mr. Honecker said. 
"It turned out Gregorio had stolen the wallet and recreated a new identity 
using his own photo and this guy's I.D."

After cutting the lock and finding the drugs, the authorities said, they 
waited until Mr. Juliano came by Saturday evening and tried to enter the 
locker.

They arrested Mr. Gregorio later at his apartment in Asbury Park.

Mr. Juliano, 23, is being held on $500,000 bail at the Monmouth County Jail 
in Freehold Township. Early today, investigators found a 9-millimeter gun 
and $131,700 hidden in a house in Tinton Falls rented by Mr. Juliano, who 
is from Bethlehem, Pa., the authorities said.

After the arrest, Mr. Gregorio was alone in his cell at the Neptune Police 
Station, and officials said the guards had checked on him only minutes 
before he was found dead at 3:55 a.m. on Sunday.

The authorities said Mr. Gregorio's only previous brush with the law 
occurred last year when he served 45 days in Ocean County for the 
possession of amphetamines.

Over the last five months, law enforcement officials in Sayreville have 
arrested and charged more than 40 people with possession and sale of 
Ecstasy at local clubs. Last month, the liquor license of Delirium, a 
Margate dance club, was suspended after employees and patrons were charged 
with distributing the drug.
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