Charles Reidy, the late husband of Jo Ringer and the chief suspect in her disappearance, served federal prison time on a drug charge before he moved to Massachusetts.
Charles "Chad" Reidy, the late husband of Jo Ringer and the sole suspect in her disappearance, served federal prison time on a drug charge before he moved to Massachusetts, according to court records reviewed by MassLive.
Reidy died in a suspected suicide on April 7 after multiple rounds of questioning by police, and as Ringer's friends and family continued to ask for help in finding their missing loved one.
On Friday, Berkshire District Attorney David F. Capeless announced that Ringer's case was being considered a homicide, and that Reidy was the chief suspect from the start of the investigation.
Reidy's ex girlfriend Laura Reilly was also arraigned today on obstruction of justice charges, and police reports from that arrest say that Reidy lied about his location the day of Ringer's disappearance and that he allegedly abandoned his wife's car in Easthampton to mislead investigators.
It was not the first time that Reidy has faced criminal scrutiny.
16 years ago, he was convicted of distributing LSD in Tennessee and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, court records show.
On April 2 2000, agents with the Knoxville, Tenn. office of the Drug Enforcement Agency had an alleged LSD dealer in custody. But the man turned confidential informant, and gave the feds a bigger fish -- his supplier, Reidy.
The informant told the agents that he had obtained about 8,300 tablets of acid from Reidy over the previous four months, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.
The DEA set up a sting. The informant called Reidy, saying he was going to deliver $6,500 owed for the drugs, and that he wanted to buy another 1,000 doses. They set up a meeting in the parking lot of a TGI Fridays.
Agents set up surveillance, and arrested Reidy after he entered the informant's vehicle, the complaint said. Reidy waived his Miranda rights and allowed the DEA to search his home.
"DEA Agents traveled to Reidy's residence where the consent search was executed and found approximately 2,000 dosage units of LSD and approximately two pounds of marijuana and a small indoor marijuana growing operation," DEA Special Agent Stephen Ribolla wrote in the complaint.
Reidy was indicted by a grand jury and charged with counts of drug conspiracy and LSD distribution. In January 2001, Reidy entered a guilty plea on a count of possession to distribute LSD and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with five years of probation after his release.
Exactly how long he spent in federal prison is not clear from the court filings. But by July 2009 he had been released, and his probation was transferred that month to U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
In 2012, Reidy violated the terms of his probation by committing a crime, using controlled substances and alcohol and failing to truthfully answer probation inquiries. He was sentenced to another 8 months in prison.
Reidy also had an earlier criminal history when he lived in Colorado. In 1995 he pleaded guilty to a charge of marijuana possession, and in 1996 he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of third degree assault, according to a search of Colorado court filings.
Lauren Slome contributed reporting from Knoxville, Tenn.