Police Arrest School Official From Middlesex County on Drug Charge

Woodbridge police arrested the school district’s business administrator after they say cocaine was found in his vehicle, following a drug transaction in the parking lot of the district’s administration building.

Dennis Demarino, 46, of Cranford, was arrested Wednesday and charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he has been the district’s business administrator since 1996.

School Superintendent Robert Zega told NJ.com that Demarino has been suspended from his job. He earns $145,000 a year, the newspaper reported.

Woodbridge police said the investigation began several weeks ago, after the Special Investigations Unit received information indicating that another man, Kevin Swayze, was selling cocaine in the township.

Detectives conducted extensive surveillance and noticed a suspicious pattern, according to a news release from Lt. Brian Murphy.

“It was determined through investigative means that Swayze was dealing cocaine to the Business Administrator of Woodbridge school district Dennis Demarino,’’ the news release said.

On Wednesday, detectives observed a drug transaction in the parking lot of the Woodbridge School District Administration Building on School Street, police said.

They then stopped Demarino’s vehicle and searched it, Murphy said in the news release.

Police said they found about a gram of cocaine, with a street value of about $50.

Demarino was charged and released on his own recognizance.

Today, they arrested Swayze, 54, an electrician from Howell.

He was charged with distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of CDS, distribution of CDS in a school zone, park zone and public housing complex zone. His bail was set at $25,000.