PITTSFIELD -- Their wake-up calls were loud knocks at the door, deep shouting and steel battering rams.

Law enforcement officials carried out a series of pre-dawn raids in Pittsfield, Richmond and Adams on Wednesday that led to multiple arrests and the seizure of large quantities of marijuana, cocaine, painkillers and cash.

Most of the raids by the Berkshire County Drug Task Force began at 5:40 a.m., awakening suspects with a jarring jolt.

After searching homes and an alleged Pittsfield "stash house," officers recovered about $50,000 in reputed drug money as well as 26 pounds of marijuana, more than 150 grams of cocaine, 100-plus OxyContin pills, 15 methadone tablets, and a loaded handgun. Police said they also recovered paraphernalia commonly used in the illegal drug trade, including numerous digital scales and packaging materials.

"They were all caught by surprise," Pittsfield Police Detective Sgt. Marc E. Strout said of the eight suspects, all of whom were taken to Central Berkshire District Court for arraignments late Wednesday afternoon.

Judge Rita S. Koenigs kept the courthouse open until 5:30 p.m. -- an hour longer than normal -- to handle the high volume of arrests in the county's first major drug bust of 2010.

"These guys have been living the high life off the backs of drug addicts in Berkshire County for a long time," said Strout, the commander of Pittsfield's drug unit and a task force member, referring

Advertisement

to the defendants.
Three of the raids involved "no-knock" search warrants -- situations in which battering rams are used to take down doors without advance warning -- while the others involved officers loudly announcing their presence.

Roughly a dozen search warrants were executed on Wednesday, said District Attorney David F. Capeless, noting that "more warrants and arrests are expected." Capeless characterized the raids as the "first phase of a large-scale, ongoing investigation."

Police said a garage at 105 Dalton Ave. in Pittsfield doubled as a stash house, or a place where drugs are stored, while more quantities were found in suspects' homes.

Police identified Pittsfield resident Richard B. Carnevale Jr., 31, of Brown Street, and Richmond resident Michael Cargill, 34, of Swamp Road, as the ringleaders of the distribution operation, which allegedly provided cocaine, marijuana and prescription pills to other county dealers.

Information gained through surveillance and provided by confidential police informants led police to the suspects, according to a copy of a "probable cause" report filed in District Court.

The report states that Carnevale and Cargill "collaborated on several re-supply transactions" with out-of-state drug dealers. "Intelligence gleaned from a variety of sources enabled surveillance officers to observe, photograph and document numerous meetings between [Carnevale and Cargill] as they engaged in these drug transactions," according to Massachusetts State Police Trooper Glenn Lagerwall, a task force member and author of the report.

Lagerwall claims in the report that Pittsfield resident Shane Whalen, 30, of Dalton Avenue, "worked for the group distributing cocaine to other lower-level dealers." Whalen was "observed and photographed" at the stash house with Carnevale, according to Lagerwall.

Meanwhile, Whalen and Carnevale used the services of Michael King, 52, and Tracey Gagne, 48, both of Elm Street in Adams, as "mules" who traveled to New York City to purchase large quantities of cocaine with money supplied by Whalen, the report states. Lagerwall said King and Gagne would then travel back to the Berkshires with the drugs, which were stored in the Dalton Avenue stash house.

These "re-supply trips" were observed, photographed and documented by the task force with assistance from federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents based in New York, police said.

Pittsfield resident Frank LeClair, 49, was identified by police as "a multi-pound" marijuana dealer who worked closely with Carnevale and Cargill. LeClair stored the drugs at his Goodman Lane residence, police said.

Other alleged drug-ring associates include Pittsfield resident David B. LaPlante, 31, of Orchard Street, and Richmond resident Katie Lynne Powers, 24, who lives with Cargill on Swamp Road.

Cargill, Carnevale, King, Gagne, Whalen and Powers were each charged with drug conspiracy and drug trafficking, as well as multiple other offenses. LaPlante and LeClair were each charged with drug conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute.

LaPlante also was charged with various felony firearm offenses for allegedly possessing a loaded .380-caliber handgun at the time of his arrest.

The defendants, who are presumed innocent until proven guilty, denied all charges during Wednesday's arraignments. LeClair and Powers are due back in court on March 29, while the others are scheduled to appear on Monday.

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_14516636