Teamster Held In
Major Drug Bust
Man Previously Detained in Beating
at Anti-Clinton Protest Demonstration
Philadelphia Post-Gazette, Saturday, October 17, 1998
By Ben Trovato
Philadelphia, PA (Riendo News) -- A Philadelphia Teamsters Union
official and his wife suspected of operating a cross-country, $4 million
methamphetamine ring from their Jenkintown home were arrested
Friday morning after a yearlong federal investigation. The man,
Anthony Michael Mucillio, is employed as a Business Agent for a
Philadelphia Local of the Teamsters Union.
Two weeks ago, Mucillio was briefly detained by the Philadelphia Police
Department after a confrontation with anti-Clinton protesters outside the
Philadelphia City Hall while President Clinton was inside speaking at a
fundraising reception and banquet. No charges were filed at that time
even though one of the demonstrators was severely beaten. That person
last week filed a formal complaint with the city.
Muccillo, 37, and his wife, Marie Gambia-Muccillo, 35, were taken into
custody at 8:30 a.m. at their house on Foster Drive, where authorities
said they seized 19 firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, military
explosives and a book on how to build explosive devices.
FBI agents and detectives from the Montgomery County narcotics task
force said they also found 22 pounds of methamphetamine valued at
$450,000 -- the largest seizure in the task force's three-year history.
The couple pleaded not guilty yesterday to a charge of knowingly and
intentionally possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, a
court spokeswoman said.
"This is a good dent out of one of the many icebergs," said Lt. Alberto
Costanza, head of the Montgomery County Narcotics Task Force. "I
think this is a significant arrest of significant traffickers."
The weapons included hunting rifles, AK-47 assault rifles, a crossbow,
revolvers and semiautomatic pistols. Authorities were tracing the serial
numbers of the firearms to see if any were stolen or had been used in
violent crimes.
Investigators were also trying to determine how the military explosives
were obtained and whether they could have been connected to Mucillio's
past service in the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton. He left the Corps
about ten years ago, authorities said.
During the investigation, agents and detectives tracked 49 shipments
of what they believe were packages containing methamphetamine from
Philadelphia to a house in Washington, DC between July 1997 and
Tuesday.
Some of the packages were transported unwittingly by United Parcel
Service, an overnight courier company. Company officials have refused
to comment on the report.
As the case unfolded, authorities in Montgomery County gained the
cooperation of employees at the Postal Annex on 30th Street in
Philadelphia. It was from there that packages were frequently sent to
the house in Washington, DC by Gambia-Mucillio, according to court
records.
Agents in Washington, DC obtained a search warrant for two packages
sent by Gambia-Mucillio on Tuesday, court records said. The search
was made Wednesday, and the packages contained about 20 pounds
of methamphetamine, the records said.
Documents obtained by investigators indicate that Mucillio has sent over
22 packages to the house in Washington, DC, which has been under
surveillance for the last year.
A resident of the house, Darnell Jefferson Robinson II, 35, who is
known as "Gentleman Jeff," was arrested a few hours before the
Mucillios. Authorities said they found methamphetamine and weapons
at his house as well.
