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| Ex-prison Officer Accused of Running Drug Ring |
| By New Bedford Standard-Times |
| Published: 04/24/2003 |
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A former prison officer and accused drug dealer who liked to flaunt his ties to local police and prosecutors was arrested by federal agents yesterday and charged with running a ring that used phony prescriptions to obtain the powerful prescription narcotic OxyContin. Peter Medeiros, 36, of New Bedford, was arrested with five other city residents April 16 and arraigned in Boston's federal court. A seventh man, Myron Pina, was indicted yesterday but not arrested. He is considered a fugitive, the U.S. attorney's office said yesterday. Mr. Medeiros, who had been out on bail following an arrest by state police and local detectives in July for cocaine trafficking, was held in federal custody yesterday pending a bail hearing Monday. Mr. Medeiros is a former Norfolk County correctional officer whom local police sources describe as a well-groomed, upper-level drug dealer whose clientele was more professional class than street level. 'He's a pretty boy,' said one investigator yesterday. 'His hair was always perfect, he always had a tan, well-dressed.' He tried to cultivate friendly relations with the detectives and prosecutors who had set their sights on him in recent years -- waving hello to police surveillance units trailing him, hanging out in cop bars and at political fund-raisers and chatting up local investigators during his workouts at the local YMCA. The image hasn't helped Mr. Medeiros stay out of court, though. His arrest last week was his second serious charge in less than a year. On April 16, a federal indictment was unsealed alleging Mr. Medeiros, his wife and five others forged prescriptions for OxyContin -- a powerful painkiller preferred by many heroin addicts -- at least 40 times in 2001, then re-sold the drug. Mr. Medeiros was still employed as a correctional officer during that time. He went out on disability and was terminated after his arrest in July. Mr. Medeiros also was charged with three federal counts of cocaine distribution. |
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