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RIP KEITH CONTARINO - CONDOLENCES to his family+ friends

Started by drdonaldblake,

340 posts in this topic

Bronty

Bronty

Posted
Posted

Yeah I wouldn't consider those charges tame either. To me it sounds like they threw the book at him because there was past history. I don't think they light up all those charges the first time they visit that home -- what do you want to bet the police are very familiar with the residence? Too bad.

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DougC

DougC

Posted
Posted
they found numerous prescription pills as well as used, uncapped syringes scattered throughout

 

I am not in any way excusing this behavior but when a warrant or search is conducted they take everything and recommend it be charged. This means that legal prescription pills that have no narcotic use as well as anything they deem "paraphernalia". Be very careful how you read what comes out in a newspaper.

 

I was once arrested while heading to a camping trip with a couple friends for about 30 different charges when a police officer searched my car (speeding) and found "glow sticks, water bottles, two needles, an inject-able substance, pills in a water tight bag, and an unknown white powder in multiple bags".

 

The news paper article made it out that I was an obvious drug dealer transporting some type of meth lab to a rave. A year an a half later (and a lot of money), all charges were dropped and the county issued an apology. Turns out flour, sugar, baking powder, blood pressure medication, insulin and two needles, along with some bottled water, and two glow sticks from a road side rescue kit are not actually illegal or the contents of an obvious drug transporter.

 

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COI

COI

Posted
Posted
HI all

 

many of you will have heard of or may be even had dealings with Keith over the years. He was one of the good guys in the comic hobby. honest, trustworthy.

 

unfortunately he's turned and become one of the Dupcak's and Ewert's.

 

As some of the dealers here will know i had a working arrangement with Keith for years where he would hold my money and buy me books from the USA (easier and more practical than doing it from australia).

 

He has stolen $26, 0000 from me and has not replied emails, and has been uncontactable for 3 months now so i do not think i will get my $ back.

 

very sad that a 20 year friendship has been wrecked by this.

 

i believe keith has been going through some difficult times recently but he has not replied to my enquiries about how he is going either.

 

http://eastcobb.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/warrant-underage-drug-use-drinking-allowed-in-ardsley-court-home

 

http://www.bustedmugshots.com/georgia/marietta/john-keith-contarino/128664951

 

i want to warn everyone take it @ your own risk if you have any comic dealing with keith.

 

he has a chance to put this right and return my $, so hopefully he will respond- he is a board member but im not holding my breath.

 

 

Holy mess. That's awful.

 

I hope you get some sort of resolution. I also hope this doesn't drive you out of the hobby.

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Chespirito

Chespirito

Posted
Posted
If any money was sitting in the home, it would have been seized. If that's the case, the money wasn't "stolen" by Keith, but rather "lost". In my mind, stealing is a word I associate with intent. It's intuitively obvious that Keith didn't intend any of this.

 

DG

 

+1

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dupont2005

dupont2005

Posted
Posted
Sucks about Keith. He has always been a class act in my book. Reading the link, seems he and his wife were unfortunately the sort of parents who created a safe house for their kids' recreational drinking etc. Never a good idea as its bad parenting and frowned on by neighbors and the police!

 

However, only the syringes sounds worrisome to me, based on the article. Prescription drugs! Less than an ounce of pot! Liquor!! All pretty tame --- except when they add up to 18 counts on the police blotter. Cruelty to their children? That's a stretch, but legally, probably accurate.

 

 

To the OP, I wouldn't lose hope of full restitution. The Keith you and I knew and trusted is the same. If it were you or me in his present condition, I'd hope we'd be excused for having other more pressing thisng to deal with right now. Doesn't excuse him not replying to,an email... Or a hundred emails, but if he never ripped you off before, why would he start now?

 

Doesn't get you your money back I know, sorry you are involved in his problems...

The article indicated the parents were scoring the dope for the kids and using with them. And prescription drugs are no joke. I was in rehab with some pill heads and they were worse off in the detox tank than the junkies. Those needles were most likely for slamming pills. That mess is not tame. It's totally cruelty to children, their daughter's life may already be ruined. I have no sympathy for the parents and I hope they catch some state time for it.
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HCE

HCE

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Posted
The article indicated the parents were scoring the dope for the kids and using with them. And prescription drugs are no joke. I was in rehab with some pill heads and they were worse off in the detox tank than the junkies. Those needles were most likely for slamming pills. That mess is not tame. It's totally cruelty to children, their daughter's life may already be ruined. I have no sympathy for the parents and I hope they catch some state time for it.

I have no knowledge of this case and you could be correct. But for the sake of playing devil's advocate, I'll present a different way of reading the article:

 

When Cobb authorities executed a search warrant at 3791 Ardsley Ct., they found numerous prescription pills as well as used, uncapped syringes scattered throughout John and Amy Contarino's house, according to Cobb arrest warrants.

Prescription pills sounds like something a lot of people would have in their house. It's also been mentioned that the guy was a vet which could explain large amounts of drugs and syringes.

 

The couple was "aware of the copious amounts of narcotics and alcohol usage by teenage and young adults within the residence," according to the warrants. "Accused helped to furnish and encouraged the narcotics and alcohol usage within the residence."

They were aware of the daughter, still living at home presumably, inviting friends over and that they were using drugs. I don't think it's abnormal behavior for parents who find out that kind of thing to not immediately throw their kid out of the house or report her to the police. Maybe they were concerned and trying to help her while trying not to ruin her life by making her a homeless drug addict or convicted felon in jail? The "helped to furnish and encouraged the narcotics" sounds damning, but could be the police/reporter connecting dots a certain way to paint the picture the way they want it to look. Would not locking the daughter out of their house constitute encouragement? Would having prescription pills and alcohol in the house that the daughter was able to swipe constitute furnishing?

 

In one exchange, the couple allegedly told their daughter to not talk to police.

Maybe they didn't want her to incriminate herself as they were aware of her drug use.

 

"As the 17-year-old became more upset and began to state that she wished to go home," according to the warrants, "accused continued to badger her and blame her for the police presence to the point that the 17-year-old began to hyperventilate."

"Now look what you've done, you didn't think smoking pot and using pills was a big deal, but now we're being arrested. This is all your fault, young lady!"

 

Maybe I just don't have enough trust or faith in the US police, but them searching a residence and wanting to find something incriminating instead of presuming innocence doesn't sound implausible to me these days. Again, though, I know nothing of this guy or the situation and it could also be just as you described. But I prefer to not automatically think the worst of people.

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comicwiz

comicwiz

Posted
Posted

This is interesting. It may explain some of the stuff found in the house. (Which seems to be underwater possibly in this real estate market.)

 

http://www.noticeandcomment.com/FDA-2012-N-1172-0021-fcod-131708.aspx

 

I'm sorry to hear about the situation.

 

Sorry to hear Doc :sorry:

 

Unless I missed it, the article and notice don't come out and detail what the opioid is. If it's methodone or oxycodone, these are drugs that have a high rate of abuse and misuse, to say nothing of their high street value.

 

A friend of mine who is a detective with the provincial law enforcement has told me this is a big problem in Northern Ontario, and entire families are dealing oxycodone.

 

I fully understand the pain management aspect as two years ago, my Wife had an emergency c-section and had to use oxycodone for pain relief for several weeks. Just two weeks ago I was looking for something in the medicine cabinet and saw the prescription with a near full bottle. I immediately threw them out. Based on the conversations with my police detective friend, the street value was somewhere around $3-$5K for those pills, but the more concerning aspect is that we have two kids running around the house.

 

As far as methodone is concerned, while this is used to wean heroine users off their drug addiction, it also has a high street value, and is extremely deadly if it gets into the wrong hands.

 

Overall though, having these drugs around the house if the history warrants it is one thing, however I would think that when there are other narcotics or signs of alcohol consumption in a house with minors, the appearance of a narcotics-dealing home isn't that much a leap of judgement in a bust.

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ChrisInBaltimore

ChrisInBaltimore

Posted
Posted
The article indicated the parents were scoring the dope for the kids and using with them. And prescription drugs are no joke. I was in rehab with some pill heads and they were worse off in the detox tank than the junkies. Those needles were most likely for slamming pills. That mess is not tame. It's totally cruelty to children, their daughter's life may already be ruined. I have no sympathy for the parents and I hope they catch some state time for it.

I have no knowledge of this case and you could be correct. But for the sake of playing devil's advocate, I'll present a different way of reading the article:

 

When Cobb authorities executed a search warrant at 3791 Ardsley Ct., they found numerous prescription pills as well as used, uncapped syringes scattered throughout John and Amy Contarino's house, according to Cobb arrest warrants.

Prescription pills sounds like something a lot of people would have in their house. It's also been mentioned that the guy was a vet which could explain large amounts of drugs and syringes.

 

The couple was "aware of the copious amounts of narcotics and alcohol usage by teenage and young adults within the residence," according to the warrants. "Accused helped to furnish and encouraged the narcotics and alcohol usage within the residence."

They were aware of the daughter, still living at home presumably, inviting friends over and that they were using drugs. I don't think it's abnormal behavior for parents who find out that kind of thing to not immediately throw their kid out of the house or report her to the police. Maybe they were concerned and trying to help her while trying not to ruin her life by making her a homeless drug addict or convicted felon in jail? The "helped to furnish and encouraged the narcotics" sounds damning, but could be the police/reporter connecting dots a certain way to paint the picture the way they want it to look. Would not locking the daughter out of their house constitute encouragement? Would having prescription pills and alcohol in the house that the daughter was able to swipe constitute furnishing?

 

In one exchange, the couple allegedly told their daughter to not talk to police.

Maybe they didn't want her to incriminate herself as they were aware of her drug use.

 

"As the 17-year-old became more upset and began to state that she wished to go home," according to the warrants, "accused continued to badger her and blame her for the police presence to the point that the 17-year-old began to hyperventilate."

"Now look what you've done, you didn't think smoking pot and using pills was a big deal, but now we're being arrested. This is all your fault, young lady!"

 

Maybe I just don't have enough trust or faith in the US police, but them searching a residence and wanting to find something incriminating instead of presuming innocence doesn't sound implausible to me these days. Again, though, I know nothing of this guy or the situation and it could also be just as you described. But I prefer to not automatically think the worst of people.

 

Innocent until proven guilty exists for a reason.

 

Two big things though:

 

1) we have a fellow boardie claiming the guy stole a good deal of money from him. At this point, we have every reason to trust the boardie based on the articles.

 

2) those mug shots make me pause for a moment. I know it was the middle of the night, but something about the eyes on both of them makes me pause...

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drbanner

drbanner

Posted
Posted

This stinks, I used to enjoy Keith's articles in the old monthly Overstreet price guide updates and bought my Spidey 1 from him back in the day.

 

Hope you recover what's yours. :wishluck:

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ComicConnoisseur

ComicConnoisseur

Posted
Posted
thanks for the thoughts guys but i dont like my chances

 

ive been in contact with a lawyer in the USA but the legal costs to file something would be way more than the $26k and may not be successful

 

its alot of $ but i think its gone

 

the only chance for me to get anything back is for keith to make it right

 

my funds may have been used to make his $75k bail

Anyway possible to get a mediator involved in this like an ADR service?

ADRs are much cheaper then hiring a lawyer.

Is there any boardie that was close to him, maybe they can contact him on your behalf?

With that being said maybe if you and him can get together,then maybe he could sign a contract were he promises to make time payments. I know it`s not as good as getting the whole lump sum, but it`s a start.

Good luck

I hope everything works out.

 

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Dale Roberts

Dale Roberts

Posted
Posted
Sucks about Keith. He has always been a class act in my book. Reading the link, seems he and his wife were unfortunately the sort of parents who created a safe house for their kids' recreational drinking etc. Never a good idea as its bad parenting and frowned on by neighbors and the police!

 

However, only the syringes sounds worrisome to me, based on the article. Prescription drugs! Less than an ounce of pot! Liquor!! All pretty tame --- except when they add up to 18 counts on the police blotter. Cruelty to their children? That's a stretch, but legally, probably accurate.

 

 

To the OP, I wouldn't lose hope of full restitution. The Keith you and I knew and trusted is the same. If it were you or me in his present condition, I'd hope we'd be excused for having other more pressing thisng to deal with right now. Doesn't excuse him not replying to,an email... Or a hundred emails, but if he never ripped you off before, why would he start now?

 

Doesn't get you your money back I know, sorry you are involved in his problems...

 

Excuse him????? Are you kidding? doh!

 

Doesn't sound very tame to me. From the looks of the picture, he only had an ounce of pot because he had already smoked the other 20 lbs. 18 counts against him. I am sure he was probably just using that syringe for watering his plants or feeding his pet gerbil, or something harmless like that.

 

I'm sorry, but I have zero tolerance for this sort of thing. Drugs are bad. Period. There is nothing good that comes from starting down that road. You know it, I know it, and he knew it before he started. If you have to have that rush, then you can deal with the consequences when they come. And then you involve kids..... :pullhair:

 

rantrant

 

Sorry for your loss of your money and your friend.

 

 

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

Posted
Posted
If you have to have that rush, then you can deal with the consequences when they come.

 

Note that one of the links in the thread had a passage where Contarino complained of chronic pain due to fused neck vertebrae. Not that it excuses what he's accused of, but there are multiple paths to addiction, many of which don't start with trying to get a rush but instead attempting to escape the type of pain that makes you want to commit suicide to not have to live with it 24x7. Hard to say if that's what he was facing.

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