SWAMPSCOTT COP NABBED FOR DEALING DRUGS

The Drug Enforcement Agency has charged a Swampscott police
officer with distributing Percocet.

Officer Thomas C. Wrenn, 37, of 17 Prospect St., Nahant was arrested
late Thursday night in Lynn and was charged in a criminal complaint
with possession with intent to distribute oxycodone.

Wrenn, who has been employed by the Swampscott Police Department
since 1998, was arrested Thursday night by DEA agents acting in
concert with the Swampscott Police after he purchased a quantity of
Percocet pills from one of his regular suppliers. He was later
released on $5,000 cash bail and $10,000 unsecured bond.

According to a press release from U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan's
Office, federal agents knew of the planned transaction and took Wrenn
into custody shortly after he took possession of 50 tabs of Percocet
from a dealer.

The affidavit also details a party at the Wrenn home in Nahant where
Wrenn, who on numerous occasions referred to Percocet and Vicodin as
"Pez," used a toy belonging to his child to dispense the pills.

"Wrenn jokingly loaded his child's candy Pez dispenser with Percocet
or Vicodin pills and then dispensed the pills from the toy Pez
dispenser," the affidavit reads.

According to the affidavit, a Batman Pez dispenser was found in his
police locker and a second Pez dispenser was found in a bag in his
bedroom.

In a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Thursday, the
government alleges that Wrenn purchased Percocet pills, which are a
form of oxycodone, over a period of months beginning in the fall of
2006.

According to the affidavit, Wrenn allegedly routinely consumed
Percocet pills and cocaine and in some instances he did so while in
uniform.

According to the affidavit from DEA Special Agent Dennis A. Barton,
allegations of Wrenn's drug use and distribution first came to light
in January 2007 when a confidential informant reported Wrenn's drug
habits to the Swampscott Police Department.

Authorities say Swampscott Police Chief Ronald Madigan confronted
Wrenn a few days after being contacted by the informant and asked him
to submit to a drug test "in order to dispel the allegation." Wrenn
refused to take a drug test and he claimed he had been taking pain
killers for recent dental work, the affidavit says.

The affidavit states on Jan. 24, 2008, Madigan introduced a DEA
Special Agent to an individual, who has become a cooperating witness.
The witness provided the agent with information on Wrenn's drug
activities for the past 15 months.

According to the affidavit, there was one incident in which Wrenn was
in uniform after completing a police detail in Swampscott when he got
into his yellow Hummer SUV and negotiated a large drug purchase.

Wrenn also distributed a quantity of Percocet pills to a former
Nahant Police Officer and a young woman in connection with a romantic
liaison, authorities say.

In addition to being a police officer, Wrenn also holds an
appointment as a Deputy Sheriff for Essex County. Before he started
working for the Swampscott Police Department, Wrenn was employed by
the Swampscott Public Schools as a custodian.