Early Sunday morning, Sag Harbor Village police arrested two men in connection with a drug sale on the northern end of Main Street. The arrests were made after Christopher Matzinger, 33, of Sag Harbor was allegedly seen handing Alex Georgakakous, 32, of Westhampton Beach, a half-gram glassine envelope of white powder. Police say officer Robert Drake and Detective Jeffrey Proctor witnessed the transaction as they waited in a car parked outside of Phao restaurant.

During a later interview, Proctor said that village police had received a number of anonymous tips throughout the summer regarding similar activity. The two policemen had spent both Friday and Saturday night staking out Main Street in plainclothes, added Proctor.

After observing the hand-to-hand transaction, which took place at around 3:30 a.m., Drake followed Georgakakous on foot to his vehicle which was parked at the intersection of Division Street and Carruther’s Alley. Georgakakous allegedly identified Matzinger as the man who sold him $50 worth of cocaine.

As Drake spoke with Georgakakous and later brought him to the police station, Proctor waited in the car on Main Street. Through the car window, Proctor said he witnessed what appeared to be Matzinger being informed of Georgakakous’ arrest by men whom he believed worked as bouncers for Phao. According to Proctor, Matzinger then pulled off his hat, reached into his pockets and threw several items into the hat. Matzinger allegedly then entered the restaurant, where police claim he walked towards the back and placed the hat inside a wooden cabinet near the kitchen entrance.

Around 15 minutes later, Drake returned to the scene and both officers walked to the front door of the restaurant, said Proctor. By that point, however, Proctor said the door had been locked and added he couldn’t ascertain who had locked it. According to the police report, Matzinger admitted he had placed 14 bags of cocaine in the restaurant. Proctor said he went to the cabinet in the rear, opened it and discovered the hat filled with the14 envelopes, each weighing half a gram.

Matzinger faces charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree and criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, both felonies. Georgakakous faces charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a misdemeanor.

Sag Harbor Village Police say charges won’t be filed against the owners of Phao as it appears the business wasn’t implicated in Matzinger’s alleged dealings. Tora Matsuoka, a co-owner of the restaurant, said that on Saturday evening, he was outside of the village, but later visited the restaurant to check on things. As Matsuoka was entering his business through a back entrance, the police were coming in through the front door.

“I was shocked,” recalled Matsuoka. He noted that the cabinet in the back of the restaurant where the drugs were found is used by customers to store their personal belongings.

“It is open to the public,” he added.

During questioning, said Proctor, Matzinger maintained that Matsuoka wasn’t involved in his operations. Although Matzinger is said to have been a regular patron of the restaurant, Matsuoka said he wasn’t personally acquainted with him.

Matsuoka couldn’t speak to allegations that Matzinger was tipped off to Georgakakous’ arrest by men who police believe to be restaurant bouncers as Matsuoka wasn’t at the location at the time. He noted, however, that he employs licensed, insured and bonded security personnel.

“These individuals are licensed and their purpose literally is to avoid illegal activity,” said Matsuoka.

The episode on Sunday morning was one of the biggest drug arrests in recent village history, said Proctor.

“We waited for a sure shot [to witness the transaction] and luckily we got it,” he said.

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