Peabody Man Arrested On Tuesday Is A 'Drug Kingpin'

PEABODY, MA -- The man arrested on drug charges in Peabody Tuesday has a lengthy criminal record, dating back to at least 2000 when he was one of four men charged with kidnapping in a Woburn dispute over a drug debt. Marino J. Spirakis, 44, of 4 Apple Hill Road in Peabody, was arrested this week following a joint, three-month investigation by Peabody and Beverly Police and charged with trafficking Oxycontin and two counts of possession of a class E drug with intent to distribute.

Police recovered charged with trafficking Oxycontin and two counts of possession of a class E drug with intent to distribute after executing a search warrant of his home. But it was hardly the first time Spirakis had a run-in with the law.

In 2000, Spirakis and three other men were charged with kidnapping, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy, and threatening with the intent to commit extortion after they allegedly held a Lowell man hostage in a Woburn hotel over a $5,800 drug debt. The men were arrested when they went to what they thought was a meeting with a man who would pay off the debt but were instead met by police.

In 2010, Peabody Police described Spirakis as a "drug kingpin" following the arrest of Adam Haynes, a firefighter in Manchester, MA, in East Boston. Police said Spirakis arranged the deal which resulted in the arrest of Haynes and 5,000 Percoset tablets. At the time, Spirakis was a cook at a pizza shop.

Also in 2010, Spirakis and Jesse Bumbaca, of Waltham, were arrested following a Boston Police investigation into the distribution of prescription narcotics in the greater Boston area. Massachusetts State Police Officers recovered $52,000 in cash in a black box when they stopped and arrested Spirakis in Revere.

In that case, Spirakis was represented by Gary Zerola, a former assistant Suffolk County District Attorney who was acquitted twice on charges of rape and attempted rape and had similar charged dropped by prosecutors in Miami. Bumbaca testified in 2008 in one of Zerola's trials.

Spirakis was scheduled to be arraigned on the most recent charges Wednesday morning in Peabody District Court.

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2010 booking photos of Marino Spirakis (left) and Jesse Bumbaca by Massachusetts State Police.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).