Middlebury Students Called Him ‘The Pharmacist’ : Ferraro’s Son Major Drug Dealer, Police Say

Authorities said today that former vice presidential candidate Geraldine A. Ferraro’s son, John A. Zaccaro Jr., supplied drugs to a majority of cocaine users at exclusive Middlebury College.

“He was certainly the major dealer at the college,” Sgt. David J. Wemette of the Middlebury Police Department said.

Wemette said a 10-page list of notes found in Zaccaro’s possession at the time of his arrest contained the names of students but he did not disclose how many names were on the list.

Zaccaro, 22, was arrested Thursday after allegedly selling one-quarter of a gram of cocaine to an undercover agent and charged with possession of a regulated drug with intent to sell. He pleaded innocent at his arraignment Friday and is due back in court March 24.

Some students said Zaccaro, a senior at Middlebury, was dubbed “The Pharmacist” on campus. Wemette said there was evidence Zaccaro had been selling cocaine since 1982, long before his mother’s historic vice presidential campaign. Police also indicated Zaccaro discontinued his business during the time he helped his mother campaign.

Zaccaro last spring was also the object of a spoof in the college’s annual newspaper satire issue of Compost, comparing his mother’s endorsement of Pepsi-Cola to his alleged preference for cocaine.

The ad, which appeared April 1, 1985, read: “Occasional Middlebury student John Zaccaro says ‘My mom may drink Pepsi, but I like COKE.’ ”