Fall River woman arrested for selling drugs with kids in car - Taunton Daily Gazette

Police said a Fall River woman told officers that she "never sell(s) drugs with kids in the car," even though she had several bags of heroin stuffed into her bra and two children with her when she was arrested Wednesday, they said.

Detectives arrested Angela J. Tantillo, 26, outside the IHOP restaurant on the Parkingway shortly before 3:30 p.m. Police had been investigating Tantillo, whose nickname is Coco, for several months and believed she was regularly coming to Quincy to sell drugs.

Detectives were waiting for her Wednesday when she drove into Quincy in a Jeep with her 10-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son.

Police said they watched her sell heroin to two men outside of the restaurant and that when they approached her, she told them: "I never sell drugs with kids in the car. I'm just trying to help my cousin."

The state Department of Children and Families took the two children and planned to turn them over to relatives, police said.

Tantillo had 10 bags of heroin tucked into her bra and two bags in her purse, Quincy police said. In all, she was carrying 16 grams of heroin, several needles and $2,290 cash, they said.

She pleaded not guilty Thursday during her arraignment in Quincy District Court on charges of drug trafficking and child endangerment. Bail was set at $50,000.
"(Tantillo) had a good-size business going, delivering heroin to different locations almost daily," Quincy police Capt. John Dougan said.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported that state police arrested Tantillo in Sutton in late October after she was pulled over for allegedly speeding. A trooper reported finding 13 grams of heroin, several syringes, methadone pills, $2,643 cash and five $200 Massachusetts EBT cards in different men's names in her purse.
She was arraigned in Uxbridge District Court and released on personal recognizance.

The two men to whom Tantillo is accused of selling heroin on Wednesday — Michael J. Quigley, 23, of 303 West St., Weymouth; and Michael H. Browne, 23, of 10 Haviland St., Quincy — were both charged with drug possession. Quigley was also charged with driving with a suspended license.

Browne and Quigley both pleaded not guilty at their arraignments Thursday. Both Browne and Quigley were released on their own recognizance. They and Tantillo are due back in court on Jan. 14.

Two months ago, Tantillo was arrested on speeding and drug possession charges by state police near Sutton. According to published reports, on Oct. 27, a state police trooper said he found 13 grams of heroin, marijuana, syringes, methadone pills, as well as $2,643 in cash and five $200 Massachusetts EBT cards in different men's names in Tantillo's possession. Tantillo allegedly told police she bought the cards for $100 each, according to the Telegram & Gazette.

Tantillo was also arrested in April 2010 by Hanover police after being accused of shoplifting at the Hanover Mall, according to published reports. Tantillo was charged with shoplifting over $100 and with illegal possession of a Class B substance. Police said they found pills in her purse for which she did not have a prescription, according to the Hanover Mariner.

On April 2, 2002, Fall River police arrested Tantillo and accused her of shoplifting candles at a Hi-Lo Supermarket. The case was subsequently dismissed upon Tantillo paying $100 in court costs, according to court records.

In November 2011, Quincy police charged Browne with possession of heroin after getting a report of two men inside a vehicle injecting drugs. And he was arrested in Weymouth a month later on charges of heroin possession.

— Herald News Staff Reporter Brian Fraga contributed to this report.