Officials eye drug sales by Brookhaven workers

One current Town of Brookhaven employee and one former town employee illegally sold prescription drugs while they were on the clock - in at least one instance selling drugs from a town vehicle, Suffolk prosecutors said Thursday.

Anthony Gazzola, 21, of Dunton Avenue in East Patchogue, and Joseph Manzella, 28, of Fulton Avenue in Mastic, were among four people charged this week in connection with a narcotics ring that sold hydrocodone and oxycodone, the district attorney's office said.

Gazzola worked as a laborer in the town highway department until April, when his employment was terminated, said Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko, who did not specify a reason for the termination.

Manzella works as a laborer in the highway department's sign shop, Lesko said. Town officials are discussing taking disciplinary action against him, Lesko said.

Lesko, a former federal prosecutor, said he cooperated with the district attorney's office in an investigation of suspected illegal drug sales involving town employees. He declined to comment on details of the probe.

Prosecutors said Gazzola sold 30 tablets of oxycodone to a buyer on July 31, 2009. He pleaded not guilty Thursday in First District Court in Central Islip to one count of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. He was held on $10,000 cash bail.

Gazzola has been held in the Suffolk County jail on $100,000 bail since his arrest last week in a separate case.

Manzella pleaded not guilty Wednesday in First District Court to one count of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Manzella was freed on $10,000 bail.

Attorneys for Gazzola and Manzella did not return calls for comment Thursday.

Also charged were Catherine Bright, 20, and Louis Gardella, 27, both of Montauk Highway in East Patchogue. Each pleaded not guilty Wednesday to one count of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Bright was held on $500 bail. Gardella was held on $5,000 bail.

Additional arrests are expected, the district attorney's office said.

Hydrocodone, sometimes sold under the brand name Vicodin, is a pain reliever and cough suppressant. Oxycodone, often sold under the brand name OxyContin, is a pain reliever.

Gazzola and another man, Ryan Rossi, 22, of Port Jefferson, were charged last week in connection with burglaries at homes in East Patchogue, Medford, Bayport and Blue Point.

Both men pleaded not guilty to those charges. Rossi is being held in the Suffolk jail on $10,000 bail.