By Shayna Jacobs and Murray Weiss
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — Attorneys for the Columbia University students charged with running a campus drug ring are asking whether the recent arrest of an undercover detective involved in the investigation that led to their arrests could affect the students' criminal charges.
Det. Richard Palase, 46, was hit with federal charges last week after he was allegedly caught heading up a $6,000-per-day gambling operation in Staten Island. The 15-year NYPD veteran was suspended by the department after his arrest.
That same officer was one of several undercovers who probed an alleged drug ring involving five Columbia students and three off-campus suppliers accused of selling at least $11,000 worth of drugs including LSD, cocaine and ecstasy, DNAinfo reported Monday.
The students' drug charges may not be dropped because of Palase's arrest but the illicit activities of an NYPD officer involved in the sting raise red flags, the attorneys said.
"Anytime you have a situation like this, it certainly causes some potential issues," said Peter Frankel, attorney for 20-year-old Jose Stephen Perez, who allegedly sold Adderall and amphetamine from his fraternity on West 114th Street.
"What it's going to mean and what effect it's going to have — it's premature at this point," Frankel added.
Attorney Matthew Myers, who is defending 21-year-old Harrison David, the student facing felony charges for allegedly selling cocaine and currently facing three years in prison, said the new development has introduced "some trepidation" in the case.
"It doesn't mean our clients are going to get their cases dismissed but it certainly may make the prosecutors move our way," Myers said.
The students were all arrested as part of the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor and NYPD's joint "Operation Ivy League" sting, which charged the students with selling drugs to their peers out of fraternity houses and campus housing.
Lawyers for the young men recently filed briefs with the court in hopes of positioning themselves favorably in upcoming plea deal negotiations with the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan, the agency handling this case and drug cases throughout the city.
Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for 21-year-old Christopher Coles, said it is too soon to even determine what role Palase played in the purported drug deals with the students.
He is unclear, for instance, whether Palase directly exchanged money for drugs with Coles or any of the other defendants, Agnifilo said. He plans to ask prosecutors for more information about the officer's part in the operation, he said.
"I'm trying to figure out exactly what role [Palase] played," Agnifilo said, adding that the amont of information released by prosecutors before the start of trial is typically limited, so it can be difficult to determine the role of an undercover officer. The indictment refers to the undercover NYPD officers involved in the case by numbers, not names, to protect their identity.
Prosecutors released a statement calling Palase a "peripheral witness" in the case against the students. The office said Palase had more of a role in arresting the three defendants accused of supplying drugs to the students.
Alleged suppliers Miron Sarzynski, 24, Megan Asper, 22, both of the East Village; and Roberto Larages, 30, of Brooklyn, have already pleaded guilty to the charges, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors added that they "don't expect an impact" and they have already "pleaded guilty and accepted responsibility."
But the case is very much in the early stages for the Columbia students, who are all charged with felonies and have retained experienced private attorneys to fight the charges.
Alan Abramson, attorney for 21-year-old Adam Klein, said he's "still hopeful" that Klein will be eligible for a good deal, provided he has no criminal record and was a good student before his arrest.
Columbia students Coles, David and Perez, Klein and 22-year-old Michael Wymbs were arrested on Dec. 7. They have all since been suspended from the university.
