Croton: Chemical, drug stash discovered accidentally

• Fire led to discovery of Croton chemical stash in Eric Scuccimarra condo at Half Moon Bay%2C police said
• %27Great possibility%22 drugs were being made%2C police say
• Scuccimarra was arraigned Wednesday in Croton Village Court

CROTON-ON-HUDSON – A paper shredder that caught fire in the basement of Eric Scuccimarra's Half Moon Bay townhouse is what drew authorities to his home, where they discovered a trove of chemicals and evidence of drug manufacturing.

While authorities say they have no evidence Scuccimarra was making methamphetamine in his basement, police Chief Anthony Tramaglini said there is "a great possibility" he was making drugs.

Among the items police removed were DMT, a psychedelic compound; MDMA, also known as Ecstasy; marijuana; hashish; LSD; about 300 oxycodone pills; more than 1,000 empty pill capsules; and a quantity of small glassine bags — the type used to hold narcotics, he said. They also seized about $10,000. Authorities were still identifying some of the substances found.

Tramaglini released that information Wednesday after Scuccimarra, 37, appeared in Village Court, where a new felony drug charge was filed against him.

As Westchester County corrections officers were leading him out of court to return to the county jail, Scuccimarra maintained the chemicals in his basement were merely "paint" that he got at Home Depot.

The discovery of the chemicals in Scuccimarra's unit at the exclusive gated community on the Hudson River resulted in firefighters evacuating his home and several adjoining units for about 12 hours Saturday. Utilities to his unit remained shut off Wednesday, Tramaglini said.

Scuccimarra, the son of a Mahopac physician Dr. David Scuccimarra and nephew of a state Court of Claims judge, Thomas Scuccimarra, was initially charged with third- and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, felonies. In court Wednesday he was hit with another felony – second-degree criminal possession – for the Ecstasy and ordered to return July 9.

He also has drug charges pending from April 2013, when state police said they stopped him in Bedford and found methamphetamine, cocaine and a pound of marijuana in his car. He's due in Westchester County Court on that case July 3.

His attorney, Richard D. Willstatter, told acting Village Justice Anna E. Minihan that he hoped to combine the two cases.

Scuccimarra, who has reddish-brown shoulder-length hair and a beard, looked gaunt in court. He stands about 5-foot-9 but appeared to weigh only about 120 pounds. He wore a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans that seemed to be falling off; corrections officers had removed his belt as a precaution.

Twitter: @CorcoranTerence