2 students arrested in OxyContin bust

Robert Quinn was expecting a package from California last week.

What he may not have been expecting was that along with the package, which was waiting for him with his building manager, were several Boston Police Drug Control Unit officers and federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

A security specialist at a Federal Express facility in South Boston found the package allegedly contained more than 100 grams of OxyContin, a prescription narcotic used to treat severe pain.

Police reports show that Quinn, a junior economics major, wasn't the only person waiting for that Nov. 28 delivery.

Later that afternoon, officers conducting surveillance outside his 90 Gainsborough St. residence allegedly observed Peter Giannitti, a junior finance and insurance major, enter the apartment and take the package.

As he was leaving, officers in rooms adjacent to the apartment detained Giannitti, who was also found to be in possession of methadone, a narcotic used to relieve severe pain, and suboxone, a prescription drug used to treat opiate dependence, according to police reports.

They were each placed under arrest and charged with trafficking in OxyContin, a class B felony, and conspiracy to violate drug laws, said Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, Wark said.

Officers were allegedly tipped off about the shipment after its contents were routinely inspected at the delivery depot, where they discovered that it contained three packages of Skittles candy inside the package.

Police reports said that, besides a few stray sweets, the candy wrappers contained more than 400 green pills, labeled on one side with the letters "OC," which stands for OxyContin, and "80," indicating its dosage in milligrams, labeled on the other side.

When confronted, Quinn allegedly told officers he knew the package contained the prescription drugs but said he was receiving it for someone else, who was paying him $800 for his efforts, according to police reports.

That someone else was reportedly Giannitti, who allegedly told officers he paid $8,000 to a friend in California for the pills, at a cost of $3 a pill.

Giannitti told officers he received as many as 10 packages in the last six months, making up to $12,000 with each exchange, depending on the shipment size.

While he was questioned, officers searched Giannitti's apartment and seized $17,400 in suspected drug proceeds that he apparently separated in groups of thousands in a safe in his bedroom, according to police reports.

An additional $1,160 was allegedly seized by officers from Quinn's apartment earlier that afternoon.

Robert George, an attorney representing Giannitti, said in an e-mail that his client "denies all of the charges against him and intends to fight the case until he is exculpated."

Quinn could not be reached for comment as of press time.

Both men pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned the following day in Roxbury District Court. They were released on $5,000 cash bail and ordered to return to court Dec. 12.