Drug suspect was living lavish lifestyle

By Robin DeMerell

and Susan Tuz

THE NEWS-TIMES/February 11, 2006

RIDGEFIELD � Little Christopher Bua was living large before police slammed down on his alleged cocaine business.

Police said the 20-year-old Ridgefield and Lewisboro, N.Y. resident � all 135 pounds of him � had bodyguards, drove a BMW and had a $75,000 wad of cash when he was taken into custody from his parents' Lewisboro, N.Y., home Jan. 5. Ridgefield police nabbed him again on Thursday.

Chris Menzel, chief of police in Bedford, N.Y., said detectives in his department became interested in Bua after his name came up during a narcotics investigation.

"Drug investigations are an intricate web. It's amazing how things are intertwined," Menzel said. "Our investigation was ongoing for several months, and during that time frame, his involvement became apparent."

Police sources said kids who got themselves addicted to drugs would tell their parents they were buying from him. They also said some of his teenage customers were afraid to rat him out because he had bodyguards.

Bua was a "major" dealer in Lewisboro, Pound Ridge and Bedford, N.Y., all over the Ridgefield border, police said.

On Thursday, Ridgefield police served Bua a court warrant after raiding his High Ridge Avenue apartment Jan. 5 and seizing cocaine, marijuana, cash and materials used to package and sell cocaine.

Westchester County Police Sgt. Daniel Langford said Bua was known as a mid- to high-level dealer.

"He was dealing in ounce quantities of cocaine to other individuals who were dealing that out at small quantities of gram size," Langford said.

Bua was on probation for driving while ability impaired by drugs and possession of marijuana at the time of his Jan. 5 arrest, Langford said. Bua was arrested from his parents' Dogwood Lane home in Lewisboro, N.Y.

Police said Bua was stopped as he was getting into his BMW outside his parents' home with a "very large individual," although police didn't identify him as a "bodyguard." The individual was not charged with any crime.

Inside Bua's home, police recovered 2 pounds of cocaine with a street value of more than $100,000, a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, $75,000 in cash and assorted drug paraphernalia including scales and packaging material.

Police also recovered a .223 assault rifle that was stolen from a Ridgefield home in 2004.

Westchester County police charged Bua with first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, fourth-degree criminal possession of weapon (because he is a convicted felon), fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property for the rifle and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia.

After his arraignment, Bua was remanded to Westchester County Jail and released Jan. 9 on $150,000 bail.

Westchester detectives first contacted Ridgefield Police in September 2005, alerting them that they had an ongoing investigation of Bua on drug sales in New York and Ridgefield, according to Ridgefield police Capt. Steven Brown.

Ridgefield detectives began joint surveillance of Bua's High Ridge Avenue apartment with Westchester County detectives in September. Bua had just moved into the High Ridge apartment.

In the Ridgefield apartment, police seized more than two ounces of cocaine, three pounds of marijuana and $300 in cash. Police also found drug packaging materials.

Police in Ridgefield had to apply for a Superior Court warrant before making the arrest Thursday.

Ridgefield police charged Bua with two counts of sale of narcotics, sale of a controlled substance, having drug paraphernalia and operating a drug factory. He was released on a $200,000 bond and is due in Danbury Superior Court Feb. 21.

Attempts to reach Bua's attorney, John Cherico of White Plains , N.Y., on Friday were unsuccessful.

Reporter Eugene Driscoll contributed to this story.

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