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Drug case has MySpace link

Woman wanted in connection with drug ring communicated over MySpace

Date published: 8/18/2007

BY ELLEN BILTZ

Spotsylvania County detectives are using the social networking site MySpace to find accomplices in a large East Coast drug organization, according to search warrants filed in court.

Participants of the drug ring are suspected of using the online profile and chat site to communicate about drug trafficking and distribution, said prosecutor Matt Lowery.

Two men have been charged, Lowery said, and another person is being sought.

The search warrants filed Wednesday were for MySpace pages, e-mail messages and Internet service provider logs registered to Elizabeth Barrer.

According to the warrant, she is wanted for drug charges that carry a potential sentence of life in prison.

If caught, Barrer would join Alexander Lembersky and Richard Rizzi, already charged with drug kingpin and other drug counts, according to Spotsylvania Circuit Court records.

Spotsylvania detectives have been following MySpace pages for "friends"--online social contacts--within the drug organization.

Six other defendants who could not be named are also being held for charges related to the drug organization, according to prosecutors on the case.

Lowery said prosecutors believe that multiple suspects in the case have been using MySpace pages to communicate about distribution of drugs.

Though the defendants aren't Spotsylvania residents, they will be tried there because county detectives are conducting the investigation and filing charges.

In a drug bust in Spotsylvania in May, police seized 39 pounds of marijuana and $50,000 in cash from a car allegedly used by Rizzi, police said at the time.

Rizzi is thought to be a middleman and drug runner for the large-scale operation, according to the reports.

Lembersky was arrested in New York City after the bust. He later received the kingpin charges, according to court records. If convicted, he would face a sentence of life in prison.

Lembersky and Rizzi are being held without bond at Rappahannock Regional Jail. Spotsylvania prosecutors plan to file a motion in Circuit Court Tuesday asking for the two to be tried together.

Another man suspected of being involved with the two men and Barrer, Anthony Vero, was arrested in Myrtle Beach yesterday and will be transported to Rappahannock Regional Jail sometime next week, Lowery said.

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Date published: 8/18/2007