Four Valley residents, including a state Judicial Marshal, were arrested last week as part of a probe of steroid and prescription pill distribution in the area, federal prosecutors announced Monday.
The arrests were the result of an investigation by a federal task force dubbed “Operation Juice Box.”
The probe, which involved two months of wiretaps and electronic surveillance, revealed the suspects allegedly imported steroids from China before distributing them, federal prosecutors said in a prepared statement Monday (May 4).
Mark Bertanza, 33, of Shelton, is accused of distributing steroids he obtained from Alex Kenyhercz, a 28-year-old Ansonia resident.
Federal prosecutors said wiretaps of cell phones used by Bertanza and Kenyhercz, as well as surveillance of steroid sales, revealed Steven Santucci, a 38-year-old Waterbury resident who works as a sergeant in the Newtown Police Department, supplied steroids to Kenyhercz.
“Through the investigation, agents learned that Santucci has been receiving shipments of steroids and related materials from China since 2011 and has been manufacturing and distributing wholesale quantities of steroids,” the statement said.
Jeffrey Gentile, a 33-year-old Ansonia resident and a judicial marshal working for the state, is also accused by federal prosecutors of distributing steroids.
Also charged were Jason Chickos, 46, of Bridgeport, who works as a civilian dispatcher for the Newtown police, Frank Pecora, 53, of Derby, Steven Fernandes, 54, of Southington, and Michael Mase, 32, of Sherman.
The feds said they seized hundreds of vials of illegal steroids, about 600 grams of raw testosterone powder, about 350 grams of powder cocaine, and four long guns during the course of the investigation.
A task force of officers from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Homeland Security, with help from U.S. Marshals and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service performed the investigation.
All of the suspects except for Pecora have been released on bond, according to federal prosecutors.
Santucci, Bertanza, Gentile, Mase, Fernandes, and Chickos have each been charged with conspiracy to distribute steroids, which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Pecora and Kenyhercz are charged with conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone, which carries a maximum 20-year prison term and a fine of $1 million.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Deidre Daly said “The international importation and sale of mass quantities of steroids in our communities is a serious offense that raises significant public health concerns.”
“I thank the agents and officers who have dedicated themselves to this difficult case,” Daly’s statement said. “Through their hard work, they have identified and arrested the source of these steroids, thus preventing further harm to the community.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Patricia M. Ferrick, who heads the agency’s New Haven field office, said “the top criminal investigative program for the FBI is public corruption matters. When law enforcement officers are involved in criminal activity, it brings a particular sense of urgency to the investigation.”
“While disconcerting, this matter involving a Newtown Police Officer, a Connecticut Judicial Marshal, a Newtown Public Safety Dispatcher and others is not indicative of the fine work and dedication to public service exhibited by the vast majority of those individuals working within the criminal justice and law enforcement community,” Ferrick said.
“Wearing a shield does not give you a free pass to peddle this poison in our neighborhoods or to our families,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Michael Ferguson said in a statement. “This type of criminal behavior does not represent the fine work and dedication to public service that is exhibited by the vast majority of law enforcement officers.”
