ARREST ENDS PROBE INTO TEEN'S OVERDOSE

When Joseph Devine died after ingesting a combination of Xanax,
heroin and alcohol, he left behind two devastated parents and five
siblings who struggled to comprehend how the quiet, good-humored
honor student with no known history of drug abuse could have left
them so suddenly.

Michael and Elizabeth Devine traced their 19-year-old son's steps to
one evening last May when, while home from his first year of college,
he went to a party and was discovered dead the next morning.

The Devines, of Port Jefferson, gave police the name of a man whom,
they believed, had sold the drugs that killed their son. The Homicide
Squad initially investigated. Then, the teen's case was transferred
to the Narcotics Section.

That investigation, part of a new effort to determine the source of
drugs in all overdose deaths, resulted in the arrest of a 19-year-old
Port Jefferson man Wednesday morning.

Suffolk County police said an investigation into Joseph Devine's
death led them to Joseph Tesoriero. Tesoriero is not being charged
with selling Devine the drugs that led to his death. But police say
their probe into Devine's death led them to discover Tesoriero's
involvement in the drug trade around Port Jefferson.

"We're not charging him with that," Det. Lt. James Burke said,
referring to the death. "But that's certainly where the investigation started."

Burke said detectives from the Sixth Precinct and the Narcotics
Section executed a search warrant of Tesoriero's room at the Heritage
Inn in Port Jefferson yesterday.

Following months of investigation, Burke said detectives observed
Tesoriero selling marijuana on March 1 and they later purchased an
ounce of the drug from him -- a felony. Detectives recovered
quantities of cocaine, marijuana, the prescription drug Hydrocodone
and drug paraphernalia.

Tesoriero was charged with multiple counts of drug possession and two
counts of criminal sale of marijuana.

The Port Jefferson man is expected to be arraigned Thursday in First
District Court, Central Islip. His attorney could not be reached for comment.

"I'm happy for the arrest," said Michael Devine. "It's not going to
do anything for me and my family. But it helps, probably, the other
children and families out there."

The Devines said they still have unanswered questions. An autopsy
ruled their son's death as an accidental drug overdose, but there
were only trace amounts of each drug in his body, they said.

Michael Devine said he believes Tesoriero should also be held
directly responsible for providing the drugs that led to his son's
untimely death.

They said their son was humble, never boasting of his achievements,
and was excited about being an uncle. His older sister told the
family she was pregnant shortly before he died. They have since named
the boy after Joseph.