Peabody Couple Plead Not Guilty To Drug Charges

PEABODY, MA — A Peabody couple indicted earlier this year on marijuana distribution charges pleaded not guilty in Salem Superior Court Friday.

Gary Cioffi Jr., 36, and his wife, Jennifer Cioffi, 38, are accused of running a large-scale marijuana distribution business from their John Road home, even after police found more than 200 pounds of marijuana and $137,000 in 2018 at Maximum Sound, Gary Cioffi's recording studio in Danvers. A third man, Marco Sosa, 28, of Salem, was also charged in the October bust by Peabody police that led to Friday's arraignment.

Gary Cioffi, Taylor Arellano, 23, of Lynn, Donald Spongberg, 26, of Saugus and Thomas Iannello 29, of Saugus, were arrested in February 2018 following a Danvers police investigation. Last year, police started an investigation after complaints of drug activity by Johns Road neighbors. Gary Cioffi and Sosa were arrested following that investigation but Jennifer Cioffi was not charged at the time.

During the October arrest, Peabody police seized 3.5 pound of marijuana from the car. During a search of the couples' home, they recovered items used in making and selling marijuana and THC-infused edibles. They also recovered more marijuana, THC vaping devices, pharmaceutical drugs, hallucinogenic mushrooms and an unspecified amount of money.

Dave Copeland covers Peabody and other North Shore communities for Patch. He can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).