STUDENT JAILED IN A DRUG CASE HANGS HIMSELF

NEPTUNE, N.J., July 31 -- Kenneth Gregorio and Brian Juliano did not fit
the profile of the street-hardened drug dealer. As a criminal justice major
at nearby Monmouth University, Mr. Juliano knew he and his classmate were
in deep trouble on Saturday night when law enforcement officials charged
them with the possession and intended sale of 49,000 tablets of Ecstasy,
the dance-club drug that has become increasingly popular with young
suburbanites.

Just a few hours after the students were taken to the Neptune Police
Station in handcuffs, Mr. Gregorio, 23, a communications major, was found
dead in his cell. He had hanged himself with the drawstring from his sweat
pants, the police said.

Although they would not officially speculate on why Mr. Gregorio took his
own life, investigators and prosecutors privately suggested that his
suicide might have been a response to recent state legislation that
significantly stiffened penalties for possessing, selling or manufacturing
the drug, much of which is smuggled here from the Netherlands, Britain and
Israel.

Under a law signed by Gov. Christine Todd Whitman in early July, the sale
of Ecstasy is a first-degree crime with a sentence of up to 20 years,
comparable to the penalties for selling heroin and cocaine.

Previously, distributing or possessing Ecstasy was a third-degree offense,
and until the mid-1980's it was not even illegal in New Jersey.

Once largely associated with big-city clubs and European raves, Ecstasy has
become a part of suburban youth culture, alarming parents and law
enforcement officials. In 1998, more than 750,000 pills were seized by the
United States Customs Service. Last year, the number was 3 million.

"Ecstasy use is exploding in New Jersey," said Paul Zoubek, first assistant
state attorney general. "It's something we're very concerned about."

Investigators said they thought most of the pills seized when Mr. Gregorio
and Mr. Juliano were arrested last weekend were bound for clubs along the
Jersey Shore, where the number of Ecstasy arrests and overdoses has risen
sharply in the last few years. They estimated that the pills, which cost $5
to make and between $20 and $30 for a person to buy, had a total street
value of about $1.5 million.

It was the second-largest seizure of Ecstasy in the state, officials said.
(About 200,000 tablets were found in a suitcase at Newark International
Airport last year.)

"It's shocking that these two kids were dealing in such heavy quantities,"
said Capt. Edward Green of the Neptune Police Department. "But then again
there is a huge market now, young kids who are just scarfing this stuff up."

Investigators said they were trying to determine where Mr. Gregorio and Mr.
Juliano had bought the pills and whether they were part of a larger group
of dealers. They said the two men had rented a self-storage unit on Route
66 near here, where they kept a duffel bag containing 45,000 pills. In
addition, 4,000 Ecstasy pills, 6 pounds of marijuana and $4,450 in cash
were found in Mr. Gregorio's car, they said.

Robert A. Honecker Jr., an assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, said
investigators were led to the storage center after a Neptune man whose
wallet had been stolen notified the police that his driver's license had
been used to rent space. "The guy got a billing notice," Mr. Honecker said.
"It turned out Gregorio had stolen the wallet and recreated a new identity
using his own photo and this guy's I.D."

After cutting the lock and finding the drugs, the authorities said, they
waited until Mr. Juliano came by Saturday evening and tried to enter the
locker.

They arrested Mr. Gregorio later at his apartment in Asbury Park.

Mr. Juliano, 23, is being held on $500,000 bail at the Monmouth County Jail
in Freehold Township. Early today, investigators found a 9-millimeter gun
and $131,700 hidden in a house in Tinton Falls rented by Mr. Juliano, who
is from Bethlehem, Pa., the authorities said.

After the arrest, Mr. Gregorio was alone in his cell at the Neptune Police
Station, and officials said the guards had checked on him only minutes
before he was found dead at 3:55 a.m. on Sunday.

The authorities said Mr. Gregorio's only previous brush with the law
occurred last year when he served 45 days in Ocean County for the
possession of amphetamines.

Over the last five months, law enforcement officials in Sayreville have
arrested and charged more than 40 people with possession and sale of
Ecstasy at local clubs. Last month, the liquor license of Delirium, a
Margate dance club, was suspended after employees and patrons were charged
with distributing the drug.