DON'T WEED ME OUT

Cop: Wife Stirred Pot Into My Meatballs!

A veteran NYPD detective accused of using marijuana is offering a
novel defense: He says his wife spiked his meatballs with pot in a
misguided attempt to force him to retire, the Daily News has learned.

Detective Anthony Chiofalo, a 22-year veteran who is facing possible
dismissal from the force and loss of his pension, convinced a
department trial commissioner this week he was innocent.

But the final word will come from Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly,
who will decide whether he believes Chiofalo was a victim of
marijuana meatballs.

"If this story is true, then he really shouldn't be fired," said a
high-ranking police official yesterday.

Last year, Chiofalo tested positive for marijuana after he submitted
a hair sample as part of random drug testing which cops of all ranks
are subject to, sources said.

Chiofalo initially suspected that he had inhaled second-hand smoke
from his wife, who smokes weed to deal with back pain, sources said.
But when she was questioned by his lawyer, she admitted her pot plot,
the sources said.

Her bizarre actions trace back to 9/11, when Chiofalo's brother
Nicholas, a firefighter with Engine Co. 235 in Brooklyn, was killed.

Chiofalo sought a transfer to the elite Joint Terrorist Task Force,
and began working long hours "to avenge his brother's death," a
source familiar with case told The News.

His wife complained to Chiofalo about his being away from home so
much and threatened to leave him. "Then she took it upon herself to
get him retired," the source said. "She never dreamed he would be fired."

On four occasions she admitted mixing marijuana into her homemade
meatballs, substituting the drug for the oregano, sources said.

Chiofalo hired a top Massachusetts toxicologist to back up the theory
based on the date and time she fed him the meatballs.

Assistant Trials Commissioner Michael Sarner found the detective not
guilty this week, ruling the positive drug test was a result of an
"involuntary ingestion."

Police prosecutors will try to convince Kelly to overturn the
decision. Virtually every instance in which cops have claimed someone
spiked their drinks or they inhaled second-hand smoke, have been rejected.

Detective Endowment Association President Michael Palladino declined
to comment.

The union kicked in a small portion of the expert witness' $20,000
fee "because we believe Chiofalo," a DEA source said.