The Westfield Leader Newspaper
The Times of Scotch Plains-Fanwood

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Tuesday to Saturday by Appointment Only As Ecstasy Use in County Escalates, Officials Reveal

How Easy It Is to Purchase Newest Recreation Drug By JOSH HAMERMAN

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word “ecstasy” as, “a state of intense joy or delight.” On the other hand, a growing number of teens and young adults in New Jersey and many other parts of the United States define ecstasy as their recreational drug of choice.

“It is rather easy for people to push ecstasy, and that includes people in their 20’s and 30’s, people who live on Wall Street, attend private schools and malls . . . it’s almost unlimited,” revealed Union County Prosecutor Thomas V. Manahan.

“In law enforcement and in U. S. Customs, this drug has taken the place of marijuana and other drugs,” he added.

“There is an erroneous belief that there is nothing addictive about ecstasy,” Mr. Manahan continued, “but medical studies have shown that people who use it on a regular basis suffer from depression.”

“There have been no reports of ecstasy dealing or use in Union County nightclubs, but that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t happen,” he said. “We are trying to alert users that this can be addictive and harmful. Ecstasy today is being passed out like mints. No area of the country or state is completely safe.”

That includes Union County. The largest ecstasy bust in the county so far occurred on May 5 after police in Cranford pulled over an automobile driver and discovered 1,000 ecstasy tablets in his car.

The first search warrant for ec stasy in Union County was obtained

by Westfield Police two years ago. “Back then, nobody knew what it was,” admits DetectiveSergeant John Rowe.

The Westfield Police were collaborating with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office to arrest Clyde Darnell, now 28, an ecstasy dealer who sold the drug in Morris County but lived on Central Avenue in Westfield.

“Even today, it’s a difficult drug to detect,” said D e t e c t iveS e rge a n t Rowe, “Kids don’t exactly walk around with, say, 30 ecstasy pills. They usually only carry around one pill, and in some cases they drop it in a bottle of water and consume it that way . . . ecstasy has no odor and looks like a generic drug when you first look at it.”

According to Liz KnodelGordon, the Substance Abuse Coordinator at Scotch PlainsFanwood High School (SPFHS), “Staff and parents are not as aware (of ecstasy use) because it’s so new and making such an impact.”

During the 19992000 SPFHS school year, Ms. KnodelGordon was consulted by 10 students who were concerned about their friends’ ecstasy habits.

The students who were allegedly taking ecstasy were juniors and seniors. “( The students) revealed that their friends were buying ecstasy at nightclubs along the Jersey Shore and in the New York City and Newark areas,” she stated.

“Some bought it at clubs in Elizabeth. (The ecstasy purchases in clubs) occurred on the nonalcoholic teen nights, and the kids who came to me were concerned because their friends were spending as much as $40, $50 or $60 per night, and using all of the money they earned from their jobs,” she continued.

As a result, u r i n e samples from SPFHS students suspected of drug use will also be screened for ecstasy.

The situation is not the same at We s t fi e l d High School.

“There ’s been no talk of it here,” says Director of Guidance Dr. Cas Jakubik, “No selfreports or anything like that. We don’t have our heads in the sand, but it’s not a problem right now as far as we know.”

Monmouth County is home to what is thought to be the biggest ecstasy bust in the history of the entire state, excluding Newark International Airport. In the evening hours of July 29, authorities in Neptune arrested two men who had a combined total of 49,000 ecstasy tablets in their possession. Asbury Park resident Kenneth Gregorio and Howell inhabitant Brian Juliano, both 23, are alleged to have been working together as ecstasy dealers.

After an investigation, police arrested Mr. Juliano at Jason Self Storage Company on Route 66, where the pair rented a storage room with the help of a driver’s license that

they stole. A total of 45,000 ecstasy hits were discovered in the unit. Mr. Gregorio was later taken into custody at his home, where 4,000 ecstasy tablets were found.

On the morning of July 30, Mr. Gregorio hung himself in his Neptune police station cell using the elastic string in his sweat pants.

Drug and alcohol surveys administered by the state indicate that less than 10 percent of SPFHS students are substance abusers.

Ecstasy use is common at “rave parties,” which are allnight celebrations with a disc jockey playing loud dance music.

By definition, a blast does not have to contain a certain number of people to be considered a rave party. Many rave party attendees suck on pacifiers or lollipops and drink bottled water during their stays.

Glow sticks, or light sabers, are often twirled around on the dance floors of allnight raves since ecstasy makes the eyes much more sensitive to light.

While there have been no reports of rave parties in Union County, they have taken place in Morris and Middlesex Counties.

Even more alarming is the method by which anyone in the United States can find the locations of rave parties.

By logging onto the Web site http:/ /www. raves. com, a person can search for rave party locations all over the country. Union County Internet users can bring up information on their computer screens about rave parties being held in the New York City and New Jersey vicinities with the click of a mouse.

Each dose of ecstasy, also known on the street as X, XTC, Essence, Love Drug, M& M, Adam, and E, is ingested as a 75300 mg pill no larger than children’s aspirin.

A pure ecstasy tablet is composed of the compound MethylenedioxyMethamphetamine (MDMA), which was first patented in Germany by Merck & Co., Inc. in 1914. It was outlawed by the United States government in 1985, and currently sells for between $20 and $35 per tablet

Ectasy

Other Names: XTC, Adam, MDMA

What does it look like? Tablet, capsule, powder or liquid

How is it used? Swallowed, snorted, smoked or injected

Courtesy the Partnership for a Drug Free America

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Fanwood Democrats Begin Campaign

FANWOOD Fanwood Councilwoman Cynthia Swindlehurst and her running mate Matthew Glennon have begun their doortodoor campaign for election to the Fanwood Borough Council.

The Democratic candidates seek to win the two council positions available on the November 7 general election ballot.

Throughout July, Councilwoman Swindlehurst and Mr. Glennon have visited neighborhoods in Fanwood on the weekends and weekday evenings.

They have pledged to continue their doortodoor effort right up through Election Day.

“We hope to speak with as many of the residents of Fanwood as we can before November 7th,” said Councilwoman Swindlehurst. “That’s the primary way to learn what the people expect from their Borough Council and what we can do to best represent them.”

Councilwoman Swindlehurst has been a Fanwood resident for 34 years. She’s served on the Planning Board and the Historic Preservation Commission and is a Youth Group Leader at the Fanwood Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Glennon has lived in Fanwood since 1992. He serves on the Planning Board and the Environmental Commission and is active in the Holy Trinity Church Contemporary Ensemble.

Judge Robert Ruggiero Mourned by Colleagues By JOSH HAMERMAN

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

MOUNTAINSIDE — Robert Ruggiero, who served on the Mountainside Municipal Court as a judge for the past 25 years, passed away last week in his home after a brief illness. He was 69 years old.

His coworkers have expressed their sorrows and agreed that Judge Ruggiero left an indelible mark on the municipal court of Mountainside.

According to Mayor Robert F. Viglianti, “Bob was very wellrespected by the police, the prosecutor’s office, and surprisingly, by some of the people he found guilty. He was a true pillar of the community and a true gentleman, and it’s too bad he died at such a young age.”

Mayor Viglianti will delivered the eulogy at Judge Ruggiero’s funeral, today, Thursday, August 3, at the Higgins and Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home in Westfield.

John Post, who worked as municipal court prosecutor during the first 10 years of Judge Ruggiero’s tenure, revealed that many changes took place in municipal courts all over New Jersey while the Judge Ruggiero presided over the Mountainside bench. (Please obituary on Page 9.)

“During Bob’s years as a judge, the Domestic Violence Act and laws regarding drinking and driving were passed. In Mountainside, there was a significant increase in cases during Bob’s tenure, and the kinds and complexities of cases increased substantially. Bob did a wonderful job of making sure that those changes occurred smoothly,” stated Mr. Post.

He added, “Bob had a very acute sense of what was fair. He was kind and courteous to everyone who appeared in that court, from lawyers to those who were accused of crimes. Bob projected a great image onto Mountainside.”