State agents accuse Pine man of dealing drugs out of house, at park; felony charges filed

Agents from the state Attorney General’s office filed felony drug charges against a Pine man following an undercover investigation.

Frank Joseph Marcello, 36, of the 900 block of Park Place Plaza, was charged with two counts of possession with the intent to deliver drugs and two counts of drug possession.

Marcello was charged on Feb. 9 but a preliminary hearing has not yet been scheduled before District Judge William Wagner because he is not in custody. A warrant has been issued for his arrest, according to authorities.

The investigation was launched after a Northern Regional Police Department sergeant tipped off state drug agents that Marcello was selling narcotics out of his house, according to a criminal complaint.

Investigators say neighbors told them that Marcello also walks to a nearby park where he makes “hand-to-hand narcotics transactions,” police wrote in the complaint.

Agents said they were watching Marcello’s house on Aug. 31 and saw him remove a duffle bag from an SUV and put it in the garage before driving away, the complaint said.

Investigators said they followed Marcello as he drove to a fast-food restaurant and then parked “for an extended period of time” in the lot of a vacant building before heading home.

Agents said Marcello made a quick turn into a Starbucks parking lot when he spotted a marked police cruiser that was participating in the operation, the complaint said.

The vehicle got back on Route 19 before entering two separate parking lots and then exiting onto Swinderman Road, where Marcello was pulled over. Police noted that Marcello was driving with a burned-out taillight on his vehicle.

Officers said there was a strong odor of burned marijuana coming from the vehicle and Marcello did not have a medical marijuana card.

Police said they had to forcibly remove Marcello from the vehicle when he refused commands to stop reaching for the center console, the complaint said. When Marcello was searched by police following his arrest, they found $2,120 in his front pocket.

Police said only a small amount of marijuana crumbs were found when they searched the vehicle.

Investigators said they got permission to search Marcello’s home, which is owned by his grandfather, and found a little more than 1.5 ounces of cocaine in the duffle bag he put in the garage along with 148 stamp bags of suspected heroin marked “Trap Kings,” a digital scale with cocaine residue and small sandwich bags, the complaint said.

Police say they found a plastic shopping bag in Marcello’s bedroom closet with $8,000 in cash when they searched Marcello’s bedroom.