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Heroin Probe In Glastonbury Leads To Three Arrests

Glastonbury

CHRISTINE DEMPSEY

January 01, 2009

GLASTONBURY - For people who wanted to buy heroin in town, police say Rob DeCarolis and David Flattery Jr. were the "go-to" guys.

The pair would drive to Hartford, police say, buy the drug for about $4 a bag, drive back to town and sell it for double the price.

"They were kind of the 'go-to' guys if you wanted heroin," said Sgt. Marc Hughes of the East Central Narcotics Task Force. "They were definitely making a profit."

The two men, however, have made their last sales for a while, police say. Narcotics officers arrested DeCarolis, Flattery and Flattery's girlfriend, Diana Pais, Tuesday in one of the bigger heroin busts this town has seen. Along with selling the drug, all three were heroin users, police said.

The arrests stem from an undercover probe of local heroin sales that spanned about two months, police said. All three of the accused — DeCarolis, 25, Flattery, 20, and Pais, 19 — live in town, Glastonbury police Sgt. Rich McKeon said.

In all, police seized 200 bags of heroin valued at a total of about $1,600, two sports cars and $1,788 in cash. Police also served 14 warrants, accusing the trio of other recent heroin transactions.

"This arrest, we believe, cuts off a significant supply to users in Glastonbury," McKeon said. But the job is far from finished, he said.

"By no means do we think we're done," McKeon said. "We're going to continue to go after dealers and anyone who may take their place."

As highlighted in a recent story in The Courant, heroin use has been increasing in Connecticut's suburbs, including Glastonbury, where the highly addictive drug recently killed two people.

DeCarolis, of Briarwood Drive, and Flattery, of Main Street, both were charged with sale and possession of heroin and other drug counts. DeCarolis' charges include operating a drug factory, possession of marijuana, possession of nitrous oxide — also known as "whippets" or "laughing gas" — and Xanax, a prescription drug used to treat panic disorders. The charges against Pais, of Salmon Brook Drive, include conspiracy to possess and sell heroin, police said.

DeCarolis' bail was set at $785,000. Flattery's was set at $450,000, and Pais' at $225,000. All three were scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court in Manchester Wednesday. Information about the arraignments was not available because the courts closed early.

The East Central Narcotics Task Force conducted the investigation and made the arrests, with help from Glastonbury police. The task force includes officers from Glastonbury, South Windsor and Manchester, where Hughes works.

The first arrests occurred about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday. Task force members and Glastonbury police arrested Flattery and Pais in the parking lot of the Burger King restaurant on Main Street after the two sold heroin to an undercover officer, police said. Investigators seized 13 bags of heroin, $241 and a Toyota MR2.

Police said they already had five warrants for Flattery for previous heroin sales. Flattery also had been charged with possession of heroin and conspiracy to sell heroin during an incident on Ferry Lane in September, police said. Officers also had two warrants charging Pais with conspiring to sell heroin to an undercover officer. Hughes said she was the driver during some of the drug deals.

About 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, officers arrested DeCarolis in the parking lot of the Hale Farms condominium complex after police said he sold heroin to an undercover officer. Police held seven warrants for his arrest on charges of previous drug sales to an undercover officer.

During Tuesday's arrest, the task force seized 187 bags of heroin, $1,547 and a 2002 Ford Mustang GT. They also confiscated marijuana, prescription pills, nitrous oxide, drug paraphernalia and a digital scale.

Police said DeCarolis was wearing a T-shirt at the time of his arrest that read, "Authorized Dealer."