WAVE OF ILLICIT DRUGS ROLLS IN, AND A SLICE OF SUBURBIA REELS

BRICK, N.J., Aug. 4 -- The sign, in front of the high school here, is an
unavoidable warning to anyone driving through this sprawling township on
the Jersey Shore.

"Deal Drugs in Our Communities and Go to Jail!" it shouts in 6-foot-tall
letters.

A graduate of Brick Memorial High School, Kenneth S. Gregorio probably
often saw the sign, erected by the local prosecutor, as he drove to his
mother's home or to the gym where he regularly worked out. Mr. Gregorio,
23, a Monmouth University junior on probation for two drug arrests, knew
the warning was not an idle threat.

Last Saturday night, shortly after he and his best friend, Brian J.
Juliano, were arrested and charged with the possession and intended sale of
49,000 tablets of Ecstasy, Mr. Gregorio removed the drawstring from his
sweat pants and hanged himself in a cell in the Neptune police station.

Mr. Juliano, 23, who, under a newly toughened state law, faces a possible
20-year prison sentence for the intended distribution of Ecstasy, was
released Thursday on $240,000 bail. His lawyer, Ray Scotto, said he was so
traumatized by his arrest and the death of his friend that he checked into
a hospital after his release.

"I don't think he knows what hit him," Mr. Scotto said.

The same could be said for law enforcement officials in this fast-growing
swath of New Jersey, which once thought itself far removed from urban
trends -- like the dance-club culture that favors techno music and an
amphetamine commonly referred to as E.

"We've become a real hotbed for Ecstasy use," said Terrence Farley,
director of the Ocean County Narcotics Strike Force. "It's so pervasive,
you can get it anywhere kids gather. I'd say it's the worst drug problem to
hit here since the cocaine epidemic" of the 1980's, he said.

Those who monitor illegal drugs on the Jersey Shore say Ecstasy, which has
been well entrenched in New York City for years, truly arrived here only
last summer. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration estimates that two
million tablets are smuggled into the United States each week, largely from
Northern Europe, and that 750,000 of those are sold and consumed in the
corridor that extends from New York to bustling seaside resort towns like
Belmar and Seaside Heights.

It is an alluringly profitable drug, costing less than 50 cents per pill to
synthesize and selling for about $20.

Last weekend's haul, with a street value of $1.5 million, was the largest
Ecstasy seizure ever made by a municipal police force, the authorities
said. They said they think that most of the tablets were headed for the
local clubs that flourish in the summer months, some attracting revelers as
young as 13 to alcohol-free "teen nights."

"This stuff is being gobbled up like candy," Mr. Farley said.

Investigators are still trying to determine whether the two men operated
their business alone or with others, but they said the two most likely
distributed the pills to local dealers. Federal drug agents who analyzed
the seized cache say they think it originated in the Netherlands or in Belgium.

Described by friends as easygoing, gregarious and well known for a shared
devotion to fitness, Kenneth Gregorio and Brian Juliano did not have
reputations as vicious drug traffickers, although Mr. Gregorio had been
convicted on drug-related charges before. "Ken was more than a dime-bag
dealer, but he wasn't a big-time dealer," said Sgt. James Riccio of the
Brick Police Department.

Classmates at Monmouth University, the two had transferred together from
Ocean County Community College and spent much of their free time together.
"They seemed to be the best of friends," said Bob Chuva, manager of Work
Out World in Tinton Falls, where both men exercised as often as six days a
week. "They rarely came in without the other."

After working out, the two men would often stop by Extreme Blendz, a juice
bar, to chat and eat. Kevin Smith, who often served the men their protein
shakes and chicken parmesan wraps, described them as seriously devoted to
fitness.

"They weren't partyers," he said. "They were working out so hard and so
into being healthy -- that's why I can't believe Kenny would do that to
himself."

But according to prosecutors, Mr. Gregorio, voted "most unpredictable" by
his high school class, had a self-destructive side. In 1996, a year after
graduating from high school, he was arrested and charged with assaulting a
Neptune police officer and resisting arrest.

In July 1998, the police in Brick caught him with steroids, a pound of
marijuana and scales. Less than a year later, he was arrested again, this
time with Ecstasy and $8,000 in cash.

Greg Sakowicz, a spokesman for the Ocean County prosecutor, said Mr.
Gregorio served 45 days in jail on the drug charges, all of it on weekends
so the punishment would not interfere with his studies as a communications
major. From time to time, he also worked as a construction worker and as an
exotic dancer, according to family and friends.

John J. Novak, a Lakewood lawyer who represented Mr. Gregorio on the drug
charges, described him as a studious, well-mannered gentleman. "He would
bring his homework to court and do it in the hallway," he said. "He was
very ambitious, the kind of guy who might make it to the Fortune 500 if
given a few breaks."

Law enforcement authorities have said that Mr. Gregorio's suicide might
have been an effort to avoid a potentially long prison term. Until last
month, when Gov. Christine Todd Whitman signed a law making Ecstasy
possession and distribution a first-degree crime, tantamount to holding or
selling heroin or cocaine, those caught with large amounts of Ecstasy often
served little or no jail time. Until 1986, the drug was not even illegal in
most states.

"I think he knew he was going away for a long time," said Sergeant Riccio,
commander of the Brick Police Department's drug enforcement unit.

Mr. Juliano, who grew up in nearby Howell, is a criminal justice major and
did a brief internship with the West Long Branch Police Department. Last
summer, a Neptune police officer stopped him for making an illegal U-turn
and found $30,000 in his car.

Mr. Novak, who also represented Mr. Juliano in that case, said the money
was proceeds from the sale of a used car. The authorities failed to obtain
an indictment, and returned the money to Mr. Juliano.

A tip led the authorities last week to a Neptune self-storage center, where
they found a duffel bag stuffed with 30 pounds of Ecstasy.

Mr. Juliano was arrested Saturday night after he came to the storage unit
and tried to open the locker. Mr. Gregorio was arrested a short time later
at his apartment in Asbury Park.

The next day, detectives escorted a handcuffed Mr. Juliano to his Tinton
Falls town house where, in a combination safe, they found $131,700 in cash,
a loaded 9-millimeter gun and hollow-point bullets. A neighbor who saw Mr.
Juliano arrive on Sunday said he looked as if he had been crying.

The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said his was the only
house on the block with an alarm system. "People would come and go
frequently," she said. "Some would stay for a while and others would be
gone in minutes."

On Thursday, about 80 people came to Mr. Gregorio's funeral at St. Martha's
Church in Point Pleasant. In his eulogy, the Rev. Michael Manning told the
story of the prodigal son, reminding the mourners that even sinners are
loved by God. As he spoke, Mr. Gregorio's girlfriend clutched his
photograph and sobbed.

As the sun set later that day, groups of teenagers strolled along the
boardwalk in Seaside Heights and talked about their clubbing plans for the
night. Most everyone had heard of the big Ecstasy raid, although few said
it would change their attitude toward the drug or their ability to buy it.

Outside Hunka Bunka, a club in Sayreville that was holding an event for
clubgoers ages 13 to 18, hundreds of teenagers in Lycra and brightly dyed
hair waited for their turn to be patted down by the bouncers. Since a
recent string of Ecstasy arrests at the club, security has become
unforgiving. Baggy jeans are banned and every pack of cigarettes is
thoroughly searched.

Still, many said they had no trouble buying Ecstasy outside and inside the
club. Ben Coran, 18, of South Amboy, said he sold the tiny tablets from
time to time. "Like anything in life, if you want it, it can be done," he
said. "Deals on the inside are the best, but how the stuff gets in there is
a trade secret."