Three Bellmore Residents Among Those Arrested in Quaalude Drug Ring Bust

Bellmore residents Barry Goldring, 57, Theresa Goldring, 50, and Bruce Siegman, 53, were among 22 individuals arrested on Conspiring to Distribute Methaqualone charges, according to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

The three-year investigation, called Operation: Lude Behavior, followed the trafficking of Quaaludes in Nassau County and has now resulted in the takedown of a massive national distribution network.

Last night and this morning, federal and local law enforcement officers arrested 22 defendants and executed 13 search warrants on numerous locations. The investigation involved members of the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, Nassau County Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Financial Investigation Team and the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

The ring leader, Dennis Fairley, 65, of Manhattan, has also been charged by the US Attorney's Office with violating federal laws, as has his wife and brother. 

The investigation began in November 2007 when Nassau County Police Officers Matt McCartin and Paul Catanzaro arrested a man for petit larceny. The arrestee told the officers he had information about a loan shark who also sold drugs, including Quaaludes. Members of the DA Squad identified Ralph Marazzo as being part of  the drug distribution ring.

With Marazzo as a starting point, investigators discovered multiple suppliers and dealers, mostly on the North Shore of Long Island.

According to a Nassau County press release, investigators were able to identify users, street level dealers, middle men and eventually, Fairley, the manufacturer. Fairley, a laboratory director and chemist, is the owner of two chemical testing laboratories in Brooklyn and Emeryville, CA. Both labs were allegedly used to manufacture hundreds of thousands of Quaalude pills per year.

The pills went from dealer to dealer, before hitting the streets at a price as high as $35 per pill.

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York has also filed civil complaints against multiple homes and the laboratories that were used to manufacture and facilitate the distribution of Quaaludes.

"This case should serve as a model of what law enforcement agencies can do together and as a warning to those who manufacture and sell illegal drugs," Rice said. "If you think you are untouchable and that no one is watching, think again. You are wrong."

"What initially began as a simple petit larceny arrest, uncovered a multi-dimensional drug operation that spanned across the country," added Police Commissioner Lawrence W. Mulvey. "It was the intuition and investigative prowess of all the police officers and investigators involved in this investigation that brought this illegal drug enterprise to a close."

For a complete list of defendants, click here.

The charges described above are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.