The startling events that took place at 19 Oxford St. were discussed by law enforcement officials and concerned neighbors at last week’s informational meeting. – Photo by Andrew Firestone

By Andrew Firestone

Neighbors expressed unease at the prospect of seeing their criminal neighbors last Tuesday, November 14, at a special neighborhood meeting led by Police Chief Thomas Pasquarello at the East Somerville Public Safety building. At the meeting, the neighbors received information regarding the alleged “shake-and-bake” method of methamphetamine production and discussed the fallout on their neighborhood.

The meeting followed the discovery of several bottles of chemicals which ended up corresponding to ingredients of methamphetamine were found at a Somerville house at 19 Oxford St. Police say they acted on their evidence within a week of hearing about the problem.

The “shake-and-bake” process is performed by concentrating volatile chemicals inside small bottles, the contents of which are so unstable that contact with water can start in fire.

Ed Nuzzo, head of Somerville Inspectional Services, said that the corrosive fumes from the chemicals might have damaged the electrical wiring in the house, and that, should the city take it over, it might be condemned and taken down.

According to police, five bottles of active ingredients were detonated by the State Police bomb squad and agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Pasquarello was quick to say that drugs were everywhere, even in the quietest of neighborhoods. “You show me a neighborhood where you don’t think there’s drugs,” he said, saying that inevitably, the social illness would be found.

The investigation was classified as a Somerville Police investigation, and is ongoing. While Grigory Genkin, 29 has been arraigned, his mother, the owner of the house, Professor Irina Kristy of Suffolk University, has yet to be charged. Genkin turned himself in, and was charged with manufacturing and planning to distribute the narcotic, with the added gravity of being in a school zone. He pleaded not guilty  in Somerville District Court on November 14. He was freed on $10,000 bail, of which only $1000 needed to be posted.

Deputy Paul Upton revealed that, at the time of the bust, approximately 9:45 a.m. on November 7, two women were pulled from the house that had been living on the first floor, as well as their four cats. Upton said the women were very upset, but had no reason to believe that these people were involved.

Neighbors said that at the time, Kristy was still living in the house, and that they were not comfortable with her presence there. When asked why the professor was at liberty, Pasquarello responded that they “were going to see how this plays out.”

Prosecutors say they will file a criminal complaint against the woman shortly.

One neighbor who spoke was Jesse, the owner of a red Volvo who was incorrectly identified as Genkin by the Somerville Journal.

“I am often in front the house working on it,” he said. “I have no other connection to it.”

The investigation might take a larger arc. According to Pasquarello, it is possible that the ingredients could be found in other home methamphetamine labs in the area. If this is the case, then there could be a common supplier, which might lead to the discovery of a larger drug ring.

“This is really where the work begins. Now,” he said.