Inner workings of a sophisticated drug syndicate that allegedly involved the wife and stepson of onetime Police Chief Gregory T. Kaczmarek

Dealers made profits in the thousands, moved cocaine by the kilo and worked out a schedule among themselves so that there was no conflict.
Transcripts of State Police wiretaps reviewed by the Times Union Monday revealed more details into the inner workings of a sophisticated drug syndicate that allegedly involved the wife and stepson of onetime Police Chief Gregory T. Kaczmarek, among others.The 13-month-long federal, state and local investigation into the sale and transport of cocaine and heroin between Suffolk County, Long Island and Schenectady culminated last week with the indictment of nearly two dozen people, among them alleged ringleaders Kerry "Slim" or "K" Kirkem and Oscar "O" Mora.
Authorities allege that Kirkem, 40, of both Schenectady and Waterford, and Mora, 30, of Waterford, ran the organization.A city man also was arrested over the weekend at the Schenectady County Jail while visiting drug courier suspect Misty Gallo, according to Undersheriff Gordon Pollard.Meanwhile, two other alleged members of the ring -- Maximo Doe of Coram, Long Island, and Wilfred Cordero of Schenectady -- remained at large as of Monday afternoon, said Lee Park, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office, which is leading the probe.
"It is an active investigation," Park said.
Miles Smith, the 20-year-old son of Greg and Lisa Kaczmarek, was released from the Schenectady County Jail Monday on $10,000 cash bail, Pollard said. Greg Kaczmarek, who retired as chief of police in 2002, has not been charged. Last week, he bailed out his wife.The transcripts reviewed by the Times Union primarily center on wiretapped phone calls made between Jan. 31 and March 3 of this year. In those conversations, numerous callers are heard making arrangements for the sale or pickup of drugs at various locations, ranging from four apartments in Schenectady and one in Coram, Suffolk County.The transcript, along with the the 54-page indictment, unsealed May 8, provides an indication of the sophistication of the operation, noting that members of the ring rented so-called "stash houses" where they would allegedly keep drugs, cash and weapons. Prosecutors also contend ring members would communicate via phone "in a guarded and cryptic" manner to avoid detection.
Kirkem allegedly boasts to one of his associates of his unlimited access to large quantities of crack cocaine."I got all the crack ... I got all the crack in the world, you heard me?" Kirkem allegedly tells accused ring member Hazel Nader in a Feb. 8 conversation, according to the transcript.The transcript also captures several discussions between Kirkem and Gallo, who is accused of being in the process of driving thousands of dollars' worth of drugs from downstate when she was pulled over in late February by State Police. She cries hysterically upon later discovering the cargo is missing, surreptitiously removed from the trunk of her vehicle by State Police while she was being given a field sobriety test:
Gallo: (Crying) I said it's not in my trunk no more.
Kirkem: I can't hear you ... You calm down. What happened?
Gallo: (Crying) I looked in my trunk ...
Kirkem: Your what?
Gallo: There's nothing in my trunk no more.

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