ANSONIA – Police arrested seven people in connection to a “flea market” being run out of the Subalpi Club on Parker Street that was allegedly being used to sell cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms.
Police also seized more than 21 pounds of cannabis flower from vendor tables while carrying out a search warrant at the club, according to court documents.
Police made the arrests between Oct. 5 and Oct. 8, according to department incident reports. The people arrested are:
- Alisa Dellarocco, 56, of Ansonia
- Jeffrey Rice, 60, of Ansonia
- John Matto, 57, of Shelton
- Janet Roberts, 57, of East Haven
- Eddie Soto, 46, of Bridgeport
- Jennifer Simpson, 36, of Meriden
- Michael Freitas, 36, of Bridgeport
Each of the seven people arrested was charged with two crimes: the sale of one kilogram or more of cannabis, and the sale of a hallucinogenic substance.
Dellarocco, Rice and Matto were additionally charged with conspiracy to commit those two crimes.
At the market, allegedly known as “Roc’s Social Club” in advertisements and social media, vendors sold marijuana and psilocybin products to customers at branded tables set up around the club’s rental hall, police said.
It was “like a flea market,” according to Ansonia Police Lt. Alexander Barreira. “They would set up tables and run it like that for unlicensed weed products.”
In a series of arrest warrants authored by Ansonia Police Det. Jonathan Troesser, Troesser wrote that police first became aware of a possible drug market in February. Police received multiple anonymous tips, including one reporting that an “open air underage illegal cannabis market” was operating from the Subalpi Club.
That market was operating without the knowledge of the club’s president, according to police.
Two tips reported teenage girls feeling unwell after taking edible products purchased at the club. The girls had been let in without showing any form of ID, according to the tips.
Police first set up a surveillance detail near the club, according to the warrants. An officer watched the parking lot around the market’s reported opening times – the market allegedly ran on Thursdays and weekend afternoons – and saw people unloading cars and appearing to set up the events.
After that, police arranged for undercover officers to go to the market and purchase cannabis products. Over two visits in May and June, police were allegedly able to purchase multiple bags of marijuana, THC-concentrate wax, gummy bear and snack mix edibles, marijuana pre-rolls, and a THC-infused beverage.
Continued surveillance footage appeared to show a thriving market. Hundreds of people came to shop at the market over the course of the surveillance period, according to the warrants, and vendors were seen in videos leaving and bringing back pizza boxes and cases of bottled water to share with customers.
The vendors would set themselves up in the club’s rental hall at different tables with individually branded tablecloths, the warrants say. One vendor allegedly sold decals with business-related QR codes alongside the cannabis products.
After making the undercover purchases, police obtained a search warrant and returned to the club while the market was underway June 11.
While carrying out the search warrant, officers seized more than 21 pounds of cannabis flower from five vendor tables, according to the warrants. Police also seized other marijuana products, including vapes, edibles and pre-rolls, as well as psilocybin mushroom products.
Police talked to club president Emanuela Soldra during the investigation. Police learned that Jeffrey Rice and Alisa Dellarocco, both Ansonia residents, had become members of the club in 2025 and would make monetary donations to the club at times.
Soldra “had thought they were selling retail merchandise,” according to the warrants. “She had no idea they were selling illegal cannabis products out of the hall.”
The Valley Indy left a voicemail for Soldra Oct. 15 but did not hear back.
After the search warrant was carried out, a judge signed off on the series of arrest warrants Oct. 1.
Matto and Simpson turned themselves in on their warrants, according to police incident reports, while officers served the other suspects with the remaining warrants.
Bonds for Roberts, Soto, Simpson and Freitas were set at $30,000. Bonds for Rice, Dellarocco and Matto were set at $100,000.
Their first court dates are scheduled to take place between Oct. 19 and Oct. 22, according to a police arrest log. The cases do not yet appear on the state judicial website.
Barreira said Ansonia isn’t the first city in the state to deal with “flea market”-style drug markets. He referred to a previous case involving a similar, larger market in Hamden.
“Supposedly they’re popping up all over the place, but they move around, so they usually don’t get hit with anything. This one was just going on for a little longer, that we were able to get into it,” Barreira said.