Joseph Doolin, 36, of Quincy, and Daniel Milisi, 29, of South Boston on Friday on charges of drug possession and drug dealing, respectively. Credit: Boston Police
Boston Police arrested two men Friday on charges of dealing a party drug thought to be responsible for three recent overdose deaths in Boston and New York City.
Police said they arranged to buy 1.5 grams of “molly” or MDMA powder from Daniel Milisi, 29, of South Boston, at the Whiskey Priest bar around 7:15 p.m. on Sept. 6. They found him at a table near the women’s bathroom, and when they introduced themselves as law enforcement agents, Milisi reportedly tried to swallow the drugs.
Officers also arrested Milisi’s friend sitting in his car outside the bar. Police charged Joseph Doolin, 36, of Quincy, with possessing painkillers without a prescription after finding five Suboxone pills and one Percocet pill.
Authorities suspect the party drug was responsible for two nonfatal overdoses and the death of Derry, N.H. native, Brittany Flannigan, 19, at an electronic music show at the House of Blues in Boston on Aug. 28.
Three days later, between Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, two people died from suspected MDMA overdoses at the Electronic Zoo Music Festival in New York City. New York police identified the overdose victims as Olivia Rotondo, 20, of North Providence, R.I., and Jeffrey Russ, 23, of Rochester, N.Y.
The same night in Boston, two men reportedly survived drug overdoses believed to be from MDMA at a concert in the Bank of America Pavilion in South Boston, according to police.
The recent overdoses are raising concerns that drug users are being sold Molly, which is supposed to be a pure form of MDMA, that is “cut” or mixed with other drugs, like amphetamines, PCP, or cocaine in potentially lethal combinations.
