October 1, 2005

Vigliatura to remain in custody until trial -
Judge says flight or threats still possible

Milton J. Valencia, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

WORCESTER - Thomas J. Vigliatura will be held in federal custody while awaiting trial on drug charges, a magistrate judge has ruled, deciding there are no conditions that will ensure the alleged drug ring leader won't flee or pose a threat to the community if he's released.

In a 16-page ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles B. Swartwood III said there is evidence Mr. Vigliatura would pose a threat, noting transcripts in which he said he would have a prosecutor in the case killed. The judge also noted the intense, angry tone of Mr. Vigliatura's voice in a separate transcript of a voice mail he left on his ex-girlfriend's answering machine, telling her he would kill her.

"(I) find by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Vigliatura poses a danger to the community," Judge Swartwood said in the ruling, "and that there are no conditions or combinations of conditions that I may impose that would protect the community if he were released."

Mr. Vigliatura, 36, of 118 Santoro Road, the owner of T Vig's Health Supplements Unlimited on West Boylston Street, has been in federal custody since he was arrested Aug. 24 as part of a six-count indictment alleging he sold GHB, an illegal muscle enhancer that also is used as a date rape drug.

Three other men, including a city police officer, a man who resigned from the police force after his arrest, and a bodybuilder from Maine also were charged with conspiring to sell the drug, commonly known on the streets as Liquid G.

Police Officer Heriberto Arroyo, 36, and Brian W. Benedict, 33, the officer who since resigned from the force, are charged along with Mr. Vigliatura of conspiring to possess cocaine and Ecstasy. The two officers and Matthew McLaughlin, 33, of Maine, have each been released on $10,000 unsecured bond. But the government immediately sought the detention of Mr. Vigliatura, the only one facing six counts, including four charges he sold GHB to government witnesses.

According to federal law, the government can seek detention when the alleged crime is of a serious nature, such as drug dealing charges, and when the defendant poses a risk of flight and a danger to the community.

Prosecutors said in a detention hearing Monday that eight witnesses will testify in the trial that they either bought or witnessed Mr. Vigliatura deal GHB, a rave drug that has been used as a date rape drug when taken in significant doses or mixed in alcohol. A Drug Enforcement Administration agent said Mr. Vigliatura sold 120 gallons of GHB, taken in liquid form by the capful, during the four years he was under investigation.

Prosecutors also said Mr. Vigliatura knew he was under investigation by the DEA and continued to use drugs. He was arrested in January for driving under the influence and possession of cocaine. The case was continued without a finding. Moreover, Mr. Vigliatura offered GHB to a woman he met through an online dating service just a week before he was arrested. The woman said she declined, but did see the defendant take the drug himself. DEA agents said they have verified her allegations.

Prosecutors also allege Mr. Vigliatura made threats to kill the prosecutor in the case once he knew he was under investigation.

A confidential witness reported to the DEA on Aug. 3, long after the defendants knew of the DEA investigation and pending indictments, that Mr. Vigliatura made threats to kill the prosecutor to evade an arrest. (The indictment was issued on July 27, but was sealed until the men were arrested Aug. 24.)

The confidential witness, working with the DEA, wore a wire at least twice before the arrest. Transcripts of those conversations played in court Monday included statements by Mr. Vigliatura he knew someone who would commit the killing for $10,000.

Speaking to the witness, Mr. Vigliatura proposed a hitman saying to the prosecutor, "Listen, if you don't (expletive) back off on these two guys, OK, um, then you're (expletive) dead," according to the transcripts.

"And they will die. It's that simple," Mr. Vigliatura added.

During Monday's hearing, the confidential informant was indirectly identified as Mr. Benedict, the former police officer and co-defendant in the case.

John C. Fisher, Mr. Benedict's lawyer, said his client reported Mr. Vigliatura's plot to the DEA after realizing the seriousness of which Mr. Vigliatura spoke and the gravity of the threat.

Mr. Benedict's cooperation with the government could lessen any punishment in his own case if he is convicted. His testimony was central in the government's case to keep Mr. Vigliatura detained.

Peter L. Ettenberg, Mr. Vigliatura's lawyer, doubted Mr. Benedict's credibility, however, citing reports of past drug abuse and violence. Mr. Ettenberg said his client was simply "bluffing" to a person he said has a questionable character himself.

Mr. Benedict's name was never mentioned during the hearing, but Mr. Ettenberg confirmed he was referring to Mr. Benedict when he submitted evidence he said detailed the witness's violent past. Mr. Benedict was placed on paid administrative leave long before he was indicted, in part because of investigations into drug abuse and violence.

Mr. Ettenberg said Mr. Vigliatura is a lifelong Worcester resident and that his family is based here, so would not flee. He also said there was no evidence Mr. Vigliatura would fulfill his threats to kill a prosecutor, but was simply bluffing to a friend with his own past.

Still, Judge Swartwood said in his ruling the evidence against Mr. Vigliatura was "substantial" and that he faces 10 years in jail under sentencing guidelines if he is convicted.

The judge ruled Mr. Vigliatura was "serious in discussing various options for threatening harm or harming the assistant U.S. attorney," and the idea was his. "Mr. Vigliatura had given considerable thought and planning to carrying out such a threat," the judge said.

September 4, 2005

Officer has bad-boy rep -
Rumors, investigations surround Officer Benedict

Milton Valencia, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

WORCESTER - One day last spring, Police Officer Brian W. Benedict barged into police headquarters, angrily questioning why he had been placed on administrative leave. He was frustrated over a discipline notice he received that stated only that he was under criminal investigation.

By then, the officer had developed a reputation among fellow officers on the city police force. Rumors concerning the officer were swirling within the department. He was escorted to a deputy chief's office where, in a rage, he threatened Police Chief Gary J. Gemme, according to several police sources. The incident led to the 33-year-old policeman being banned from the station where he had reported for work for a decade and where his father and brother also were employed as police officers. His reputation only worsened as a result.

The Aug. 24 federal indictment charging Officer Benedict and another city patrolman with conspiring to sell drugs goes a long way toward explaining the department's move earlier this year to distance him from his uniform. The criminal investigation specified in the discipline notice had been conducted by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

But there was more than the DEA investigation involving the officer, according to officers who have worked with him. Shadowing him have been complaints of drug use and domestic abuse, as well as ties to a murder investigation that tainted the officer's badge long before he was put on administrative leave.

On the list is a Rhode Island police department's interest in Officer Benedict and his relationship with a suspect in a slaying that occurred five years ago, according to several sources familiar with the investigation. He has not been charged with any crime in connection with the slaying and has not been identified as a suspect.

But word that Rhode Island investigators came to Worcester to interview Officer Benedict has tarnished his reputation among fellow officers. It is troubling, some pointed out, that he "lawyered up" and refused to take a lie-detector test.

"Why would a police officer do that?" one source said. Another source said the DEA evidence was the catalyst needed to confiscate the badge of an officer whose name had cropped up in other investigations.

John C. Fisher of Worcester, Officer Benedict's lawyer, said his client has the been the victim of fabrications - rumors that are off-base - particularly in connection with the murder investigation in North Providence, R.I.

"He's a victim of a rumor mill at this time, and a good deal of it is totally fabricated," Mr. Fisher said. He did confirm, however, that his client has spoken three times, twice this year, with detectives investigating the Rhode Island killing.

"They just asked some questions, and he told the same story to them three times," he said. "Nothing has changed since 2000."

That was the year that Kimberly Morse was found dead in a bathtub during a fire in her North Providence home. Investigators believe the strip-club dancer had been dragged to the bathtub. She had been stabbed and a streak of blood was smeared to the bathroom from the entrance of the one-bedroom apartment, where investigators believe she was attacked, according to a Rhode Island police officer.

The fire happened about 5:30 on a cold January evening. Fire inspectors smelled gasoline and determined the fire was arson. The woman in the bathroom had been dead for many hours, however, and investigators believe she was killed when she returned home from work at 1:45 that morning. She was still wearing her stripper clothes and her jacket.

It has not been established if the killer or killers waited in the apartment before setting the fire, or if someone returned to the apartment to set the blaze. Investigators believe the victim knew her killer, the Rhode Island police officer said, adding that robbery was not a motive and that money was in plain view at the scene.

Ms. Morse had many male friends, the officer said. But investigators narrowed the list of suspects to five men who knew her well, people she dated.

One was a man from Central Massachusetts, who, when questioned, said he was close friends with Officer Benedict. Why he brought up his friendship hasn't been determined. One source suggested that he may have been attempting to convince investigators he was a law-abiding man who associated with police officers.

North Providence police then questioned Officer Benedict in 2000. He knew Kimberly Morse, he told Rhode Island police, and had spent time with her and the Central Massachusetts man, whom he described as a close friend. He said he had no knowledge of the killing, and the case went cold.

About the same time, the officer allegedly conspired with others, including a fellow police officer, Heriberto Arroyo, 36, to sell GHB, an illegal muscle enhancer, according to the federal indictment. GHB goes by many street names, including liquid Ecstasy, Georgia home boy, and the date rape drug, because of the euphoric feeling it produces when taken in significant doses. Police say it is commonly used at rave parties.

However, a source familiar with the local investigation said the drug was being used by those in the alleged drug ring strictly as a muscle enhancer. The men charged are all body builders. Officer Benedict has lifted weights for a decade, his lawyer said.

Mr. Benedict was released on $10,000 unsecured bond after his arrest on the federal charge and was ordered to undergo random drug testing. He also is charged with conspiring to possess cocaine and marijuana, and faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

The move to place Officer Benedict on paid administrative leave earlier this year was based on the DEA investigation. Law enforcement sources said there was probable cause to charge the officer at that time, but the arrest was delayed because of the ongoing federal grand jury investigating him; Officer Arroyo; Thomas J. Vigliatura, who owns a nutrition supplement store in the city; and Matthew McLaughlin, a body builder from Maine.

There also were other factors that led to Officer Benedict, who joined the force in 1995, being placed on administrative leave, according to several sources. They maintain that Chief Gemme, who took office in October, wanted to separate Officer Benedict from the force.

There has been an ongoing internal affairs investigation into a fight two years ago outside The Matrix, a Boston nightclub. Officer Benedict has said he was attacked while waiting in line at the club and has sued another man allegedly involved, Daniel Morris of North Chelmsford, according to court records.

The Worcester Police Department, however, has moved to fire Officer Benedict because of the fight, and an administrative hearing already has been held. A decision could come within days.

Meanwhile, a state Department of Social Services investigation has concluded that Officer Benedict and his wife, who live in Auburn, have abused cocaine and barbiturates, according to sources and a DSS report obtained by the Telegram & Gazette. DSS officials would not comment, except to say that its case involving the Benedict family remains open. Worcester Juvenile Court said the case is confidential.

The DSS document describes a case based on negligence. Mr. Benedict's son and stepson were taken into DSS custody and placed in his mother-in-law's home after he and his wife tested positive for cocaine in October 2004, according to the DSS documents.

Mr. Fisher acknowledged his client formerly used cocaine. He said Officer Benedict has since complied with the DSS investigation, undergoing counseling and drug tests three times a week. The DSS report states that Mr. Benedict's wife later recanted her complaints of domestic abuse and said they were exaggerated.

"He's going to counseling and doing what they're telling him to do," Mr. Fisher said. The children have since returned to the custody of Mr. Benedict and his wife, underscoring his commitment to comply with the DSS, according to his lawyer.

Sources said Worcester police have been aware of the DSS case but were unable to investigate the allegations because the case is considered negligence rather than abuse and thus is kept secret, even from police investigators.

The Police Department would only say in a statement, without addressing Officer Benedict, that its ability to investigate complaints and officers' conduct depends on the "completeness of information received, the ability to locate and identify witnesses and the cooperation of other agencies and organizations involved.

"It is imperative that when allegations of police misconduct by an officer are received, whether on-duty or off-duty, a complete and exhaustive investigation is conducted," the statement said. "This type of enforcement will permit the department to maintain the highest level of professional conduct as well as the integrity of its personnel."

News traveled quickly among fellow police officers, and by the time Chief Gemme took office, there was widespread knowledge within the department of Officer Benedict's alleged cocaine abuse, the North Providence murder investigation ties and allegations that he abused his wife. The officer was placed on administrative leave last year based on the DEA investigation, but police commanders couldn't say why for fear it would jeopardize the case.

Earlier this year, North Providence detectives came to Worcester following up on the homicide in their city and again interviewed Officer Benedict, according to sources. Worcester police commanders met with North Providence detectives at least twice this year. One of those meetings included agents with the DEA, and Mr. Fisher was there as well. 

August 26, 2005

Officers ran a drug ring, say fed agents -
3 face numerous charges

Milton J. Valencia, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

BOSTON - Two Worcester police officers and a nutrition supplement store owner charged with conspiring to run a drug ring allegedly built a $50,000 enterprise selling a muscle enhancer commonly used as a date rape drug, according to a federal indictment unsealed yesterday.

Officers Brian W. Benedict, 33, and Heriberto Arroyo, 36, also conspired to possess cocaine and Ecstasy, according to the six-count indictment that follows a yearlong investigation by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

The two officers were arrested by Police Chief Gary J. Gemme Wednesday, and were transferred to Boston. They appeared in federal court yesterday, and were released on $10,000 unsecured bond, ordered to undergo drug testing and to surrender their firearms. They are expected to be arraigned next week in federal court in Worcester.

A third defendant, Thomas J. Vigliatura, 36, of 118 Santora Road, Worcester, was ordered held without bail for a detention hearing, expected next week. Federal prosecutors called Mr. Vigliatura a risk of flight and a danger to the community.

The three men are charged with conspiring to distribute GHB, an illegal muscle enhancer sold in health food stores until it was banned in 1990 by the Federal Food and Drug Administration. The drug has come to be known as a rave drug, and is sold in liquid form by the capful - $5 to $25 a cap in street value - and added to water or alcohol. It produces feelings of euphoria and hallucination, and is known casually as "liquid Ecstasy," "Grievous Bodily Harm," "Georgia Home Boy," and "the date rape drug," according to the U.S. attorney's office.

The three men are also charged with conspiring to distribute GBL, a liquid chemical used in many industrial cleaners, according to the U.S. attorney's office. The human body converts GBL directly into GHB upon digestion, and it is typically drunk straight rather than mixed with another liquid, as is the case with GHB.

A fourth man, Matthew A. McLaughlin, 33, of Kittery Point, Maine, is also charged with the officers and Mr. Vigliatura in conspiring to sell GHB and GBL. Prosecutors said yesterday that a warrant had been issued for Mr. McLaughlin's arrest.

Officers Benedict and Arroyo are also charged along with Mr. Vigliatura in conspiring to possess cocaine and Ecstasy.

Mr. Vigliatura, owner of T. Vig's Sports Supplements Unlimited, 98 West Boylston St., is also charged with four additional counts of possession with intent to distribute GHB and GBL. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the possession with intent to distribute charges, and he and the two officers face 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to distribute charge. They also face a year in prison on the conspiracy to possess cocaine and Ecstasy charge. They allegedly committed these crimes from 2000 to 2004.

Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of Mr. Vigliatura's home, his business and $50,000 he and the two police officers allegedly earned in profits from the drug ring.

Chief Gemme, while saying the charges are still allegations, has been quick to distance his department from the officers, saying there are men and women who work to protect the public daily and still deserve the community's trust. The chief said he learned of the investigation more than a year ago, when he was still a captain and commander of the vice squad, and has cooperated with federal investigators since.

Chief Gemme said he felt reassured with the public's reaction yesterday after news of the arrest had spread throughout the city, and that several officers have praised the way the department handled the incident.

"No one likes what we had to do, but support the way we did what we did," he said. He said officers commended him, "for really maintaining the integrity of the Police Department."

The chief said, "It was an unfortunate incident but it was dealt with properly."

The union representing the officers will have no comment because the allegations are based on off-duty allegations, officers said. The officers have been placed on administrative leave without pay.

Officers Arroyo and Benedict appeared in court yesterday dressed casually in jeans. Mr. Benedict wore a T-shirt with the sleeves cut off, a tattoo showing on his bicep, and Mr. Arroyo wore a plaid button-down shirt. Mr. Vigliatura wore a T-shirt and jeans.

Lawyers for the two officers say their clients deny the charges, and they also questioned the quality of the indictment, noting the men are charged with conspiracy in the drug ring. The indictment does not specify any facts in the case, and only lists the charges.

"I see some gaping holes (in the indictment)," said John C. Fisher of Worcester, representing Mr. Benedict.

He said Officer Benedict denies the charges. He also said the officer is struggling with "everyday life." He did not elaborate, but Mr. Benedict has had legal issues with his two children, with the state taking them into custody, the Telegram & Gazette has learned.

Officer Benedict had been placed on administrative leave long before the indictment, in an unrelated matter. He has faced an administrative hearing and could be fired for a fight outside a night club in Boston.

Mr. Fisher, saying he was not representing Mr. Benedict in the administrative hearing, said he didn't know much of the circumstances of the allegations but said it was based on an incident that occurred four years ago.

"I'm surprised it's gotten as far as it did," he said. Officer Benedict joined the force in 1996, and his family has a history of law enforcement: his brother, Daniel, recently joined the U.S. Secret Service; his grandfather, John Smith, is a retired Worcester officer; and his father, William, is a sergeant on the force. Sgt. William Benedict was at the court appearance yesterday.

Stephen Hrones, a Boston lawyer appointed to represent Officer Arroyo during yesterday's hearing, said the officer has a spotless record with the Police Department. Officer Arroyo joined the force in 1995.

"He has a very nice family. It's hard to see how this happened," he said. Officer Arroyo's sister was at the hearing yesterday.

Mr. Hrones said his client denies any involvement in the ring, and also questioned the strength of the indictment. He noted that the officers are charged only with conspiracy, and that the possession of Ecstacy and cocaine charge is a misdemeanor, which he called far reaching for a federal investigation.

"It suggests they really never put a case against him," he said. "Why would you bring that unless you were reaching to bring a case."

Both lawyers said their clients lift weights and are in shape but do not consider themselves body builders and did not know why they were charged in relation to the muscle enhancing drugs.

They also couldn't explain the officers' relationship with Mr. Vigliatura, though Mr. Hrones, noting he was charged with all six counts, called him "the big guy."

"He's the heavyweight, that's why they're holding him (without bail)," Mr. Hrones said. Mr. Vigliatura did not have a lawyer in court yesterday. He said he has obtained one, but he couldn't appear on time for the hearing.

The owner of the health supplement store is a former professional body builder. In 1998, he was the National Physique Committee's Mr. Rhode Island champion, and won first place in the heavyweight divisions of the NPC's New England Body Building Championship and Golds Classic.

In March 2004, he told the Telegram & Gazette for a story about steroids that he had used the illegal drug in the past and that they are not as bad as their reputation.

"To compete on the national level without them - good luck," he said then, a year and a half after his last competition.

"No matter how hard you train, how good your diet is or what supplements you take, you can't beat the chemicals."

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