Jesuit School Dean Busted for Heroin after Being Found Passed out in Car: Cops

New York Daily News
July 18, 2013

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/regis-high-school-dean-students-nicholas-despoelberch-arrested-heroin-pills-bust-article-1.1400632

Nicholas deSpoelberch was found with several bags of heroin and drug paraphernalia in a car stopped in the middle of the street in Connecticut.

The dean of a Manhattan Catholic school was busted in Connecticut for heroin and Oxycodone possession after cops found him passed out in a car in the middle of a dead-end road, according to reports.

Nicholas deSpoelberch, 35, dean of students at Regis High School on the upper East Side, was allegedly found asleep at about 10 p.m. Thursday in his 2005 Nissan Altima.

An officer who inspected the vehicle parked in the town of Wilton and woke deSpoelberch said the educator had glassy eyes and was talking slowly, according to the Darien Times.

DeSpoelberch, who lives in Darien, told police he was using medication and had pills not prescribed to him, according to the Darien Times.

Cop searched his vehicle and found three packages of heroin, five Oxycodone pills, three Clonidine pills and drug paraphernalia — including two silver spoons and two hypodermic needles in a zippered briefcase, and a syringe under the driver’s seat — the Villager of Wilton reported.

DeSpoelberch was charged with possession of narcotics, possession of drug paraphernalia and retaining prescriptions pills outside of their original container, according to the Wilton Bulletin.

Regis High School, where drug suspect Nicholas deSpoelberch worked as dean of students.

He was released on a $2,500 bond and is expected back in court on July 22, the Bulletin reported.

It’s not the first time deSpoelberch has been busted for substance abuse issues.

According to court documents, the drug-addled educator pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence on Labor Day in 2007.

The school issued a statement Tuesday saying that deSpoelberch was suspended from his job, pending further investigation.

“Regis High School is just now learning about the allegations against Mr. deSpoelberch, and takes those charges very seriously,” the statement said.

Regis High School is an all-boys’ school that offers a tuition-free Jesuit education in a historic building on the upper East Side.