An alleged drug kingpin was arrested outside Boston Municipal Court Friday as he arrived for a previous conspiracy case

Sep 20, 2010

OUTCOME: Pending

Boston, MA -- September 20, 2010 An alleged prescription drug kingpin from Peabody was arrested outside Boston Municipal Court Friday as he arrived for a previous conspiracy case. Marino Spiraki ... s, 36, who is employed as a cook at a pizza shop, was said to have had a box containing $52,000 in cash when he was arrested June 23 during an ongoing investigation into prescription painkiller trafficking in the Boston area. After his arrest, Spirakis posted $15,000 cash bail, less than half the amount requested by Suffolk prosecutors when he was arraigned the next day on charges of conspiracy to traffic in a class B substance. On Friday, as Spirakis was walking up the steps of Boston Municipal Court for a scheduled hearing on that case, he was taken into custody by State Police and federal agents who had discovered that he was directing the delivery and sale of 5,000 30 mg Percocet tablets seized Thursday at the Copley MBTA station. The estimated street value of the pills could reach $150,000 if they were to be sold individually. Spirakis is represented by Boston Attorney Gary Zerola who specializes in criminal law and has represented several high-profile defendants. “The evidence suggests an organized, sophisticated drug enterprise with a kingpin at its top,” said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. Attorney Zerola vehemently disagreed. "The only evidence to suggest Mr. Spirakis was doing anything wroong comes from the mouths of two people who caught caught with enough drugs to put them away for 15 years each." Zerola continued, "They would have blamed my client for the Kennedy assasination if they thought it would get them out of trouble." During the course of the investigation, prosecutors say investigators obtained statements from cooperating witnesses alleging that Spirakis oversaw the shipment of those and other pills into Massachusetts. A cooperating witness is said to have brought the seized pills to an East Boston hotel on Thursday. Another man, Adam Haynes, 30, of Groveland, was allegedly directed by Spirakis to pick up the pills and arrived at the hotel shortly after 8:30 p.m. He was arrested after he took the pills from the witness and left the hotel room. In post-Miranda statements, Haynes allegedly told investigators that he was instructed to bring Spirakis the pills after Spirakis attended his court hearing. “We had other plans for Mr. Spirakis,” Conley said. Assistant District Attorney Brian Fahy of Conley’s Narcotics Unit recommended at Spirakis’ arraignment that his open bail be revoked and that his bail on the new case be set at $500,000. Judge Edward Redd set bail at $250,000 and granted the revocation order. Fahy noted that Spirakis is on federal probation following a 2003 extortion conviction. At East Boston District Court, Supervisory Assistant District Attorney Jennifer O’Keefe recommended $100,000 surety for Haynes with the request that he be ordered to report to probation officers every other day. Judge Roberto Ronquillo Jr., set bail at $1,000 and granted the order to report. Spirakis was represented by attorney Gary Zerola and is scheduled to return to court Nov. 22. Haynes was represented by attorney Anthony Rossi and is due back in court Oct. 27.