Health Store Fronted For Chester Man's Date Rape Drug Sales: MCPO

CHESTER, NJ — New court records detail the steps a Chester man is accused of taking to run a date rape drug ring through a local supplement store.

Ronald V. Castellano, 55, from Chester, was arrested on Sept. 3 in connection to the alleged drug dealing scheme, officials said. An affidavit of probable cause details how he used the Nutrition Zone business set up to help run that scheme.

A Nutrition Zone employee told police he was instructed to sell a drug similar to GHB to a select group of customers. People looking to buy the drugs would contact Castellano, and Castellano would then tell the employee what specific drugs to sell the customer.

Bottles of the drug, 1, 4-butanediol, also known as catnip cocktail or yoohoo cleaner, would be rung up in the register for $12, the employee told police.

A customer who turned up at the store to buy the drug during a search warrant execution also told police about the set-up of the transactions, court records day.

Castellano was arrested at his Chester home following the search of the store, records show. He admitted to selling the drugs, records say, but told his employees to only sell to people who did not look like "junkies."

In addition to finding drugs during the search, police say they found over $1,000 in cash and a 2017 Bentley Continental GT.

Castellano is charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, and conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance.