Mother Helps Police Arrest 2 Men Linked To Son's Heroin OD Death

GLOUCESTER (CBS/AP) — Police in Gloucester say the heartbroken mother of a man who died of a heroin overdose is credited with helping police arrest two men who allegedly sold the drug to her son.

Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello said in a statement that the woman, who lives on the North Shore, had heard of the police department's ANGEL program, which offers addicts a chance for treatment rather than arrest.

While it was too late to save her own son, Campanello said the woman reached out to police for help in catching the dealers.

According to the court documents, the woman provided police with a phone number belonging to someone named "Jo-Jo" who she believed sold drugs to her son in the past.

Police conducted an undercover drug buy at Gloucester's State Fish Pier and arrested two men from Lynn, William Piazza and Eugenio Valentin, on charges of distributing a Class A drug. Police recovered roughly $500 in heroin and $805 in cash from the pair.

Piazza's criminal complaint states that he has numerous alias names and has two different FBI numbers.

Dozens of police departments around the country have adopted some aspects of Gloucester's program.

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