Pubdate: Fri, 14 Feb 2014
Source: Philadelphia Daily News (PA)
Copyright: 2014 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
Contact: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/about/feedback/
Website: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/339
Author: Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press
Note: MAP archives articles exactly as published, except that our
editors may redact the names and addresses of accused persons who
have not been convicted of a crime, if those named are not otherwise
public figures or officials.

$200K BOND FOR NYC MAN ARRESTED AMID HOFFMAN PROBE

NEW YORK (AP) - A musician charged with keeping a 300-packet heroin
stash amid an investigation into Philip Seymour Hoffman's death is an
addict, and any heroin the musician allegedly had would have been
largely for his own consumption, his lawyer said Friday.

But a judge expressed skepticism about viewing veteran jazz and pop
sideman [name redacted] as just a drug user caught up in a
high-profile probe.

[name redacted] was in court seeking bond in a case that has drawn a
share of the publicity surrounding Hoffman's Feb. 2 death in an
apparent heroin overdose, though he isn't charged with playing a role
in it. He has said he was a friend of the Academy Award-winning actor
but didn't sell the heroin that authorities found in Hoffman's apartment.

As police followed a tip after Hoffman's death, they said they found
about 300 small bags of heroin, worth about $10 apiece on the street,
and $1,300 in cash in [name redacted]'s apartment and music studio.
Both are in the same building in Manhattan's East Village. [name
redacted], 57, faces a felony charge of possessing heroin with an
intent to sell it.

His lawyer, Edward Kratt, said [name redacted] has a 10-bag-a-day
heroin addiction, and much of the alleged stash "clearly was for his
own use." Kratt noted that police didn't report finding scales, rubber
stamps used as a drug-world branding tool, or various other packaging
materials to suggest major drug dealing.

"Mr. [name redacted] is committed to confronting his problem and is
committed to treatment," said Kratt, adding that [name redacted]'s
addiction had sapped his ability to work.

But state Supreme Court Justice Edward McLaughlin said that in some
other cases, experts have testified that considerably smaller amounts
of heroin were big enough to imply a plan to sell.

"If he has no job that produces income and has $1,300 in cash, you
draw your own conclusions," McLaughlin said. He set a $200,000 bond or
$40,000 cash bail for [name redacted], who had been held without bail
since his arrest last week. Friends were working to raise the money.

Under the name [name redacted], [name redacted] has a musical resume
that dates to the early 1980s. He played saxophone, flute and
keyboards on albums by artists including David Bowie and Mick Jagger,
and more recently, Wyclef Jean and the late Amy Winehouse.

"He's one of the most well-rounded musicians I've known," said Duke
Guillaume, a gospel/swing jazz saxophone player and one of about 20
friends who came to court Friday to show support for [name redacted].
"He an extrovert when it comes to music - otherwise, he's a very
relaxed guy."

Guillaume and others said they were unaware of Vineberg's drug problem
before his arrest.

[name redacted] told the New York Post in a jail interview Saturday
that he and Hoffman had been friends for about a year and last
communicated by text message in December, trading messages about their
mutual efforts at sobriety. [name redacted] wouldn't say whether he
had ever sold Hoffman drugs but denied providing the at least 50
packets authorities found in the actor's apartment, the newspaper said.

"If I knew he was in town, I would've said, 'Hey, let's make an AA
meeting,'" [name redacted] said, according to the Post.

Hoffman said in interviews last year that he had sought treatment for
a heroin problem after 23 years of sobriety.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D