Man nabbed in Willowbrook Ecstasy sting

A "professional middleman" is facing felony charges after DuPage County narcotics officers nabbed him in a recent undercover Ecstasy sting in Willowbrook.

Prosecutors charged David M. Percudani with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, a felony that carries up to a 30-year prison term.

The 26-year-old Chicago Heights man is expected to plead not guilty when arraigned Aug. 10.

Percudani sold an estimated 200 Ecstasy pills to undercover officers with the DuPage Metropolitan Enforcement Group during three separate buys, two of which were secretly recorded, prosecutor Michael Fisher said.

He said police arrested Percudani July 27 after the final controlled buy. Percudani posted $15,000 bail the next day. He does not have a prior criminal record.

"He was a professional middleman," said Steve Loan, DuMEG director. "He makes his money setting up the deals. He would sell wherever the money was."

The club drug typically sells for $10 to $20 a pill, Loan said.

In 2002, Illinois law was amended to make the sale of club drugs such as Ecstasy a felony punishable by between six and 30 years in prison - similar to the penalties for selling cocaine, heroin and LSD.

Previously, people convicted of selling club drugs could receive probation. DuPage State's Attorney Joseph Birkett lobbied for the new law after a rash of suburban teen overdose deaths, including 18-year-old Sarah Aeschlimann of Naperville.

Drug dealers responded by tweaking Ecstasy's chemical makeup and name. The 2002 law was updated in January to include the change, and experts such as Loan have noticed an increase in Ecstasy arrests ever since.