Restaurant Owner, Bartender Arrested In Drug Bust: Stratford Police

STRATFORD, CT — A restaurant owner and bartender are accused of trafficking cocaine from the bar following a lengthy investigation by the Stratford Police Department. Police launched an investigation after receiving numerous neighborhood complaints of ongoing drug activity at the Stonybrook Bar and Restaurant, located at 825 Success Avenue in Stratford, according to Capt. Frank Eannotti.

Eannotti said investigators determined that the bar's owner, Angelo Recine, along with bartender Laurie Herb, were “trafficking cocaine from the bar.” (To sign up for Stratford breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

Detectives conducted numerous buys of cocaine from the bar, according to Eannotti. Police executed search warrants on Oct. 12 at the bar along with Herb's and Recine's residence.

“Detectives seized cocaine packaged for sale, U.S. currency in the amount of approximately $3,500, items used for the preparing and packaging of narcotics for street sale and suspected cocaine with a total packaged weight of approximately 4 ounces of cocaine was found both at the Recine residence and inside the bar,” Eannotti said in a press release.

Angelo Recine / Stratford Police Department

Recine, 68, of Bridgeport, was charged with three total counts of sales of cocaine and one count of operating a drug factory.

Laurie Herb / Stratford Police Department

Herb, 51, of Stratford, was charged with four counts of sale of cocaine.

Recine posted a $25,000 bond and Herb posted a $10,000 bond. Each is scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on Oct. 20.

Photos via the Stratford Police Department