Busted: The Day My Gay Meth Dealers Went Down

Slammed: a Memoir — Chapter 7 Part 1

Memorandum: Prosecutor’s Office Bergen County

To: Director Peter Wallace From: Detective Dominic Falco Date: April 14, 2004 Subject: Case Report Defendant: Eric Katz

On Monday, March 29, 2004, a briefing was held at the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force. The purpose of which was to advise all police personnel present that I had made arrangements to purchase five ounces of crystal methamphetamine for twelve thousand ($12,000.00) dollars from Eric Katz. This transaction was scheduled to take place on the above date at approximately 1:30p.m., in the parking lot of the Ikea, located in Paramus, New Jersey.

“Package for John Cormier?”

I was briefly without words, struck by this gorgeous Latino delivery man, looking all preppy in his Fedex shirt and hat.

“That’s me. Sorry about the stairs,” I said as I signed.

“No problem,” he replied as he handed over the box. These were far from the last set of stairs he would be climbing today.

I shut the door, took the box into the living room and placed it in front of Jackson’s door.

“Hey,” I texted Jackson. “Your package is here.”

“Great! On my way to you,” he replied.

I knew what was in the box, but I didn’t dare open it, even if it was addressed to me. So I returned to another round of cleaning and rearranging my room. Usually I would do this whenever the internet got turned off and my tweaker hands needed something to do. Now it was just a regular project I would get sucked into once every week or so. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever kept such a clean apartment, chaotic as it was.

I was busy vacuuming the area rug when Jackson returned home followed by Walt. I was working at it with the small hand-held attachment, worrying the edges of the green oriental rug like I was scrubbing grout with a toothbrush, not really making any headway as the vacuum was cheap and had weak suction.

As Jackson picked up his box he said, “John, I just had a run in with your landlord.”

“Yeah?” Why wont this rug get clean?

“He seemed pretty pissed.”

I looked up at him. He was wearing a black trench coat and aviator sunglasses. He looked like a Party City version of a background extra from The Matrix.

“Pissed?”

“Yeah, he said he wants us out.”

I was confused. Sure, the multi-day event that was Jackson’s move in had been a bit of a production with a cast of thousands, but that was, what? Three weeks ago?

My Ukrainian landlord was a barrel of a man with a thick head, neck, and heavy belly. His meaty hands had the power to punch right through our plaster and lath walls if he wanted to. Though, honestly, his raw-garlic breath garlic would knock you out faster than anything.

The cash Jackson had thrown me was only enough to get me partially caught up on rent, and the sudden late-night traffic right next door to the landlord — not to mention across the hall from the landlord’s son and his family — was apparently a bridge too far.

As Jackson disappeared into his room, his words “he wants us out” swirled around and around in my head. I had no idea what my rights were as a tenant. Jackson wasn’t my first roommate. Sure, he wasn’t on the lease, but I’d had several roommates who weren’t on the lease. Hell, half of the apartments in NYC were sublets. He couldn’t evict me for that… could he?

I started to freak out, which is something you really don’t want to do while swimming in amphetamines. Of course, me freaking out wasn’t running around, pulling my hair, or dissolving into some kind of keening mess. My version of freaking out was going completely internal. I was stuck, standing in the middle of my room, tense, barely breathing, not knowing what to do or which way to go.

When Jackson re-emerged, he saw me standing, clenched, eyes wide and wild, looking for an answer, staring at nothing. Jackson offered me a Xanax, which I (stupidly) declined.

After Jackson left to make his deliveries, the box and Walt in tow, I finally made myself move, continuing to clean and rearrange.

At approximately 1:35p.m., back-up units established surveillance in the vicinity of the Ikea. I then received a call from Katz who stated that he was waiting for me in the parking lot. Shortly thereafter, I approached the Ikea parking lot. Upon arrival, I observed a white male with blonde hair standing on the corner of the driveway leading to Ikea utilizing a cellular phone. Katz then entered my vehicle and instructed me to pull next to a Mercury Cougar that was parked in the lot. At that time, Katz asked me if I had the money. I then asked Katz if he had the “stuff”. Katz stated that he had “it” in the trunk of the Cougar. Katz advised me that the crystal “meth” was in a big package. Katz then exited my vehicle and retrieved a Federal Express box from the trunk of the cougar. Katz entered my vehicle and advised me that the “meth” was in the box.

I called Richard and begged him to come over. He did, but I’d barely finished filling him in on what Jackson had told me when he said “I gotta get out of here.” He hadn’t even taken off his coat.

“What? Why?”

“Can’t you see this place is covered in staph?”

He left without even acknowledging anything I told him.

The morning dragged into a crazy paranoid afternoon as I cleaned and cleaned. Finally, after vacuuming the area rug for hours, I couldn’t stay in my apartment anymore. I was scared the landlord would pound on my door and start yelling at me with his garlic breath and a mix of English and Ukrainian swear words.

I got my shit together, including two 8-balls of Tina in a spearmint Altoids tin, a small wad of cash, and headed over to Richard’s.

I then gave the pre-arranged arrest signal at which time back-up units moved in and Detective Elliott Cookson placed Katz under arrest. Detective Cookson verbally advised Katz of his Constitutional Rights. Katz acknowledged that he understood his rights and stated that he was willing to cooperate with police. Katz advised Detective Cookson that the Cougar was his friend Walt’s, and that he was standing in front of the Ikea as a “lookout”. Detectives Donald Ingrasselino and Melissa Sabino then located Walt and placed him under arrest. Walt was identified as Walter Peterson.

I called and texted Richard multiple times that I was coming over, but he didn’t respond. This worried me a little, but a fuck ton less than having to face my landlord, so I kept going.

When I arrived, he wasn’t home.

I then opened the Federal Express box, which contained one purple plastic bag labeled John Cormier. The purple bag contained one green hollowed out candle, which contained one clear zip lock bag containing a white crystal like substance of suspected crystal methamphetamine. The purple bag also contained two small manila envelopes, one labeled “Anthony” the other labeled “Richard”. The “Anthony” envelope contained one small clear zip lock bag containing a white rock like substance of suspected cocaine, and one zip lock bag, containing sixteen (16), white, small, pills, of suspected Ecstasy. The “Richard” envelope contained one clear zip lock bag containing three white pills of suspected Ecstasy. Katz was then transported to the Bergen County Narcotic Task Force for processing. Detective Ingrasselino then asked Peterson if he would allow members of the Bergen County Narcotic Task Force to transport his vehicle to headquarters.

It was a warm, pleasant evening for March. Winter seemed to be finished and Spring was taking over. I wasn’t in the headspace to appreciate it though. I just wanted to know where the hell Richard was.

I didn’t have keys to Richard’s apartment anymore since I had been spending far less time in Fort Lee and, honestly, we had been moving toward something of a break up. I didn’t need him for Tina anymore, and he didn’t want my constant reminder that he was short a few marbles.

At Bergen County Narcotic Task Force Headquarters Eric Katz was advised of his Constitutional Rights. During the interview Katz stated that he would get large quantities of crystal methamphetamine in Las Vegas and Federal Express the “meth” to an address in Washington Heights. Katz stated that along with the “meth” he sold me, he also sent two ounces via Federal Express from Las Vegas to one of his customers, Richard, in Fort Lee,

When I arrived, I tried calling Richard again. I heard his cell phone ring through the open screened window which was right next to the building entrance. I walked up to it but wasn’t able to see in without jumping.

I called through the window “Richard?”

I listened.

I couldn’t hear the shower.

I couldn’t hear anything, just the ringing cell phone.

“Richard, are you home? Hello?”

He was not home, and he didn’t have his cell phone.

What the fuck did that mean?

I could have easily climbed in through the window, but it was still daylight and I couldn’t be sure a neighbor wouldn’t call the cops. So I sat down on the entrance steps and waited.

Walter Peterson was advised of his Constitutional Rights. Peterson stated that he has known Katz (AKA Jackson) for about six months. Peterson went on to say that he has picked up Katz at his apartment in New York and driven him to meet people on numerous occasions. Peterson stated that Katz instructed him to be a lookout at the Ikea for any police.

Two hours later, as dusk was settling in, Richard finally appeared.

“Oh, thank God. Where have you been?” I asked.

He didn’t respond but gestured that I should follow him inside.

As he shut the door to his apartment he told me to sit down. I took a seat at his dining table.

Then he dropped the bomb.

And it was nuclear.

Eric Katz was charged with one count of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, namely crystal methamphetamine in a quantity of five (5) ounces, one count of possession with the intend to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, namely cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, namely Valium and Xanax, and one count of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance namely Ecstasy. Bail was set on Katz at one hundred fifty thousand ($150,000) dollars.

Walter Peterson was charged with one count of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance namely Crystal Methamphetamine, one count of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, namely cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance namely Valium and Xanax, one count of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance namely Ecstasy and one count of possession with the intent to distribute namely crystal methamphetamine. Bail was set on Peterson at seventy five thousand ($75,000) dollars.

That wasn’t all.

On the same day at approximately 8:00p.m., Sergeant Michael Fraser and Detective Geoffrey Lennon responded to the residence of Richard in Fort Lee, NJ. Richard voluntarily signed a consent form authorizing police personnel to search his residence. Richard then advised Detective Lennon that he had crystal methamphetamine in his hallway closet.

Richard was charged with one count of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, namely crystal methamphetamine. Bail was set on Richard at five thousand ($5,000) dollars R.O.R.

I thought I had been freaking out before, but now I was in a full meltdown. Richard’s revelations washed over me like a flash flood. I couldn’t breathe. I was desperately trying to form questions, but fragments of “what” and “why” came out like escalating whimpers. I stood up from my chair. Walked behind it. Walked to the other side of the room. Back to the table. I became transfixed with Richard’s red apartment door. I had never known anything so terrifying. I stared at the door, expecting it to burst open at any moment flooding the room with uniformed men coming to take me away.

I regressed to a frightened child, clenching my fists and waving them in front of my face. I started frantically looking for another exit. Finally Richard stood up and wrapped me in his arms. I broke down crying. He led me into his bedroom where we lay down and just held each other. Richard had never just held me like that before, his arms wrapped tight around me. I wept into his chest, making his shirt damp with my tears.

Everything we knew, our entire world, had been ripped away. Our lives as we knew them were over.

It was no longer a game.

There were actually people out there trying to get us.

We clung to the only thing either of us had left: each other.

I cried myself to sleep in his arms.

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Chapter Guide

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