Montco man among 4 charged in meth ring

Four people, including a Montgomery County man, have been arrested and charged with operating a methamphetamine ring in eastern Pennsylvania.

The group made as much as $9 million worth of the drug, the state Attorney General's Office announced yesterday.

Arrested were Michael Spadafora, 42, of Reading; Michael Sexton, 55, of Perkiomenville; and Randy Cronrath, 43, and Holly Cronrath, 40, both from Bechtelsville, Berks County. The four face drug and corrupt organization charges. Spadafora also faces additional firearms charges.

The attorney general said the office was investigating whether Spadafora supplied the drug to the Warlocks outlaw motorcycle gang.

According to an affidavit, the investigation - which authorities called "Operation Underground" - began in June 2007, when a confidential informant told investigators of the operation and mentioned having obtained large quantities of methamphetamine from Spadafora. The informant said Spadafora had manufactured the drug in his Reading home basement and kitchen.

Randy and Holly Cronrath, according to the affidavit, sold the drug for Spadafora. Sexton allegedly was gathering chemicals and equipment to begin his own illegal drug laboratory.

In August, undercover investigators met and arrested both Cronraths at a storage shed in Bechtelsville.

During a search of the shed and the homes of the Cronraths, Spadafora and Sexton, investigators allegedly seized almost four pounds of methamphetamine kept in an ice cream pail, more than $53,000 in cash, and other substances used in the manufacturing of the drug, including liquid mercury.

They also recovered, according to the affidavit, a number of weapons, a cardboard cutout of a police officer with bullet holes in the chest, and a book titled

Your No Nonsense Guide For Making Meth

.