Andrew C. Tartaglino (January 28, 1926 – November 21, 1997)[1] was an American federal government official. He served as the deputy chief of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA).
Tartaglino served as chief inspector of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, only to be promoted as deputy director of operations.[2] In 1967, he argued that 75% of heroin used in the United States came from France.[5] By 1971, he admitted he hired intelligence operatives on foreign land to curtail the illegal drug trade, in conjunction with foreign governments.[6] Back in the United States, Tartaglino oversaw the arrest of 39 employees of Strasenburgh Prescription Products, a subsidiary of the Philadelphia-based Pennwalt Corporation, for exporting amphetamine tablets to its Mexican subsidiary, Laboratorios Strasenburgh de Mexico, which were later sold in the U.S. states of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, Colorado, Mississippi and Arkansas, under the brand name of Bifetamina.[7] During the arrest, 1 million tablets for a market value of US$1.5 million were also seized.[7] The arrest became known as "Operation Blackjack".[8]
John R. Bartels, Jr
Tartaglino served as deputy chief of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration from 1973 to 1975.[2][3] He resigned upon accusing DEA official John R. Bartels, Jr. of covering up for another DEA official allegedly involved with prostitution and drug-dealing.[2]
Tartaglino married Doris E. Deipser in 1955.[4] They had three sons, Andrew C. "Drew" Tartaglino Jr., Frederick R. Tartaglino, and Stephen D. Tartaglino.[2] They later divorced, and he married Peggy Ollinger.[2][3]
^Marchant, Alexandre (July–September 2012). "La French Connection, entre mythes et réalités". Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire. 115 (3): 89–102. doi:10.3917/vin.115.0089. JSTOR23326218.
