Pubdate: Sat, 09 Sep 2006 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Copyright: 2006 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274 Author: Sue Montgomery Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) DRUG DEALER'S ROAD TO JAIL PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS Marcello Ruggiero bought himself a BMW automobile, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a commercial property and a house with the proceeds from the drug network he built in Quebec's northern communities. But the dealer also appears to have had a selfless side. Ruggiero, 41, a former heroin addict, purchased a house in the Quebec countryside he hoped would one day offer drug users better therapy than he ever got. Yesterday, Ruggiero pleaded guilty in Quebec Court to seven counts, including trafficking, operating a criminal organization and possession of goods acquired through criminal means. And all his goods - including the would-be therapy centre in St. Felix de Valois, about 65 kilometres northeast of Montreal - were seized by the courts. Judge Martin Vauclair also sentenced the Terrebonne resident to 42 months in jail on top of the 151/2 months he has already spent behind bars since his arrest in May 2005. Ruggiero, a stocky man with short-cropped hair, sat in the prisoner's box yesterday, mouthing messages to his wife sitting in the courtroom. The drug network, which had been operating for about seven years, reached into 12 northern villages. It was broken up after a six-month investigation by officers from the RCMP, the Surete du Quebec, the First Nations Chiefs of Police Association and the Kativik Regional Police Force. Ruggiero had 46 people working with him, the court heard yesterday, including 23 Inuit pushers scattered throughout Nunavut territory and northern Quebec's Nunavik region. Every week, two kilograms of marijuana would be packaged in plastic bags and sent via Canada Post on airplanes to the North. For every gram that sold for $50, $20 went to the dealer and $30 to Ruggiero, for a three-month profit of $1.6 million. Crown prosecutor Nancy Perrault said Ruggiero also sent a small amount of cocaine to his dealers as a "tip" for their work. The Crown and the defence struck a deal whereby Ruggiero would plead guilty and agree to hand over his goods, estimated to be worth about $1 million. Four of the key Inuit dealers have already been sentenced to between 24 and 30 months in prison. Fourteen other people involved in the ring are to appear in Quebec Court on Oct. 10. - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath