A pioneer in the technology of Internet phone calls faces Boston drug charges after a routine traffic stop that ended with hazardous-materials crews going over his car.
Boston Police report stopping Scott Petrack, 46, of Brookline, shortly after 7 p.m. at 66 South Huntington Ave. - just around the corner from the Brookline line. Police say Petrack was driving with a suspended license and they asked him to step out of the car. During a search, officers found two possible crack pipes and, when they asked him if he had any drugs in the car:
... Suspect replied, "there is none on me, but there's some stuff in my bag." Officers then conducted an inventory search of the motor vehicle. After observing a number of items (plastic bags, pipes, rubber tubing, bottles of unknown liquids, ice colored rock substances) consistent with items found in a methamphetamine lab, officers decided to call the Boston Police and Boston Fire Hazmat Units. ...
They determined Petrack was not in possession of a mobile meth lab but instead "a collection of designer drugs," so he now faces charges of possession of Class A, B and C drugs with intent to distribute.
Petrack was an early developer of voice over IP telephony (see this patent abstract, which lists the same Brookline address as given to Boston police). He helped found two companies in the field (one of which was later bought by telecommunications giant Alcatel) and he was active in helping to develop standards for linking traditional and Internet-based phone networks. He also holds a doctorate in mathematics from Oxford.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, Petrack was arraigned today in Roxbury District Court, where he pleaded not guilty. Judge Edward Redd set bail at $2,100 cash.
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