`similarities' Seen In Prescription-drug Deaths 
Law Enforcement 
Officials Gather Wednesday 
To Scrutinize Deaths 
Of Two Physicians' Wives

Anna Kaczmarek 
January 8, 1998 
Anna V. Kaczmarek, 93, A Guest At The Little Flower Manor In Wilkes-barre For 
The Past Two Years, Died Thursday At Penn State Geisinger Wyoming Valley 
Medical Center, Plains Township.

By BONNIE ADAMS; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Saturday, January 10, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





WILKES-BARRE- Investigators said they followed two men round trip from
Luzerne County to Philadelphia before stopping the pair at a local turnpike
toll booth and seizing a shipment of heroin. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This was a pretty large-scale dealer," said Luzerne County Drug Task Force
President John Soprano. "Two to three times a week, they would travel to
Philadelphia and return with a couple hundred bags of heroin." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Soprano said the suspects, Michael Wallace, 40, of the Red Carpet Inn,
Wilkes-Barre, and William Guzzi, 31, of Hazle Street, Hanover Township, were
arrested Thursday and charged with possession of heroin, possession with
intent to deliver heroin and criminal conspiracy for possession of heroin. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It was a dent in the heroin traffic. But there's still a lot more,"
Soprano said. "We're trying to control it. It's bad, the heroin is bad." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Luzerne County District Attorney Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. agreed. "I think
it just further illustrates that heroin comes into this county on a regular
basis." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Soprano said the arrests followed a two- to three-week investigation by
drug task forces from the county and Philadelphia, the Luzerne County District
Attorney's Office and the state Office of the Attorney General. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Olszewski said the suspected heroin will be tested. That examination should
determine if it is of the same, potent grade that Luzerne County Coroner Dr.
George E. Hudock Jr. has maintained killed five local residents in September. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Soprano said, "They go down to Philadelphia and they bring it and you don't
know what you're getting." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 District Justice Joseph Halesey, of Hanover Township, arraigned Wallace and
Guzzi, who were sent to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of
$75,000 bail each. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 According to the affidavit: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Guzzi was driving the Ford Contour that law enforcement officers stopped at
the Pennsylvania Turnpike toll booth in Bear Creek Township at about 5:30 p.m.
Thursday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The amount of heroin recovered from the car indicated that it was destined
for delivery. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Guzzi showed Soprano exactly where the heroin was located in the car's
trunk. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The drug was field tested and proved to be heroin. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Soprano, who is Edwardsville's police chief, said the investigation was
widespread and complex. He said 15 to 20 law enforcement officials were
involved Thursday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He said cooperation by the attorney general's office is vital to targeting
heroin in this area. &nbsp;&amp;nbsp

Long Ride Produces Drug Arrests 
Tests On The Suspected Heroin Will 
Show If It Is The Kind Of Substance That 
Reportedly Killed Several Area People 
In September, Says District Attorney Olszewski

Long Ride Produces Drug Arrests Tests On The Suspected Heroin Will Show If It Is The Kind Of Substance That Reportedly Killed Several Area People In September, Says District Attorney Olszewski