MAN, 76, CHARGED IN DRUG AND CIGARETTE SCHEME April 15, 2008 A 76-year-old Revere man with a prosthetic leg was arraigned yesterday on charges that he sold prescription painkillers and bootleg cigarettes out of a Chelsea taxi company, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced. RICHARD “POPS” PICARDI, Sr. (D.O.B. 2/5/32), was held on $10,000 cash bail following his arraignment yesterday in Chelsea District Court on six counts each of unlawful distribution of a class B substance and violating the state’s drug laws in a school zone. Picardi was also charged with single counts of receiving stolen property and selling cigarettes without state tax stamps. Picardi was formally charged after an extensive investigation by Chelsea Police in which undercover officers repeatedly bought OxyContin, Percocet, and other narcotic painkillers from him. The officers paid cash and, in some instances, traded cigarettes for the drugs, which are unlawful to possess without a prescription. Beginning in March of this year, undercover officers conducted five separate transactions with Picardi, who kept a desk at the Washington Street headquarters of Square Taxi. It was unclear whether he held any official position at the establishment; he told officers during the booking process that he was retired and “self-employed.” In addition to taking cash, evidence suggests, Picardi also accepted partial payment in cigarettes, which he is believed to have sold at a discounted price. Officers paid him $20 and a carton of cigarettes for two 20mg OxyContin tablets on one date and on another obtained three 20mg tablets for $40 and eight packs of Marlboros. On two occasions, evidence suggests, Picardi sold Percocet and Roxicet tablets to undercover officers when he was out of OxyContin. In the course of the undercover buys, the officers observed him selling cigarettes for $4 a pack out of his desk drawer. When Chelsea Police executed warrants for his arrest and a search of the premises on April 11, they recovered from his person a total of 74 5mg Roxicet pills and more than $11,000 in cash – including bills that had been marked by Chelsea Police in prior drug buys. From Picardi’s desk, police recovered 16 packs of Marlboro Lights that were not affixed with stamps proving that Massachusetts taxes had been paid on them. In addition, Chelsea Police found beneath his desk a total of 21 packages of razors in various brands and styles, as well as five bottles of Drakkar Noir and Thyme Ginger Mint cologne. All these items are believed to have been stolen. No contraband was found in other areas of the cab company. “This was not an independent business or an informal corner store,” Conley said. “This was the illegal sale of addictive narcotics by a man old enough to know better.” Picardi is represented by attorney Carmine Lepore. He will return to court on June 4. Return to the Press Releases page.