Crime Correspondent: Thomas (T.J.) Gleason

Thomas (T.J.) Gleason, the 34-year-old chef at the Ruddy and Dean North Shore Steak House, and another man, Ralph Fleischmann, 40, arrested

Thomas (T.J.) Gleason, the 34-year-old chef at the Ruddy and Dean North Shore Steak House, and another man, Ralph Fleischmann, 40, have both been arrested on felony drug dealing charges, accused of selling $100 worth of cocaine at the bar. The restaurant, which sits just a block away from both the state Supreme Court building house and the NYPD 120th Precinct stationhouse in St. George, has long been a haunt for attorneys and police officers who work in the area. As authorities tell it, an undercover police officer walked in on the night of Jan. 14 and spoke with Gleason, telling him, “I need $100 of powder.” Gleason’s response, according to court papers, was “I’m out. I’ll make a call. Wait by the bar and I’ll let you know when he’s here.” Gleason then made a call to someone named “Pookie,” according to a law enforcement source, and about an hour and a half later, Fleischmann showed up. The officer gave Gleason $100, and after a conversation, “both defendants engaged in a transaction underneath the bar ledge,” according to court papers. After that, Gleason handed the officer a Ziploc bag and a plastic twist of cocaine, authorities allege.Authorities say Fleischmann was the restaurant’s manager, but both the bar’s owner, Danny Mills, and the current manager, Kim Hogan, said that’s simply not true. “Ralph never worked here,” she said. “Ralph has nothing to do with this bar.” Mills called the drug bust an “isolated incident,” sparked by a 311 complaint, and said the arrests shouldn’t reflect badly on his business or reputation. “We are a clean place,” Mills said. Gleason, he said, made a bad decision by calling someone up to get drugs at the request of a stranger. “He made a silly decision, helping a guy he didn’t know. And there are consequences.... he’s fired,” Mills said. “He made that choice, and for that he lost his job.” Mills also took issue with a statement in the report that Fleischmann and Gleason were arrested inside the bar. The two men, he said, were arrested outside of the building. Both Gleason, of Cooper Terrace in New Springville, and Fleischmann, of the 100 block of Townsend Avenue in Clifton, face charges of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, as well as third-, fifth- and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, said William J. Smith, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan. They’ve since been released on $1,500 bail, pending return appearances to Stapleton Criminal Court on March 11. Neither could be reached for comment today.