BY LINCOLN ANDERSON | Dr. John Wolf, a Chelsea dentist, was arrested last Friday at his Charles St. apartment in the West Village on charges that he provided dental work in exchange for methamphetamines, as well as possessing and distributing child pornography.
Wolf’s dental practice is located at 212 W. 15th St.
His attorney admitted this week that Wolf, 59, had a drug problem, but that the case against him was largely based on “tapes and…the uncorroborated statements of a government cooperator,” The New York Times reported.
In March, a drug dealer who was arrested at J.F.K. Airport was found to be packing nearly 2 kilograms of meth, according to a federal complaint against Wolf. The dealer reportedly told authorities that he had provided drugs to the dentist in return for work on his teeth.
The dentist was one of 10 clients in New York that the dealer provided with drugs, the federal complaint states. In turn, Wolf “further distributed” the drugs to other local users. The dealer also said he witnessed Wolf and his employees using meth during his visits.
Cooperating with law enforcement, the dealer subsequently reportedly recorded Wolf talking about child porn. He said that Wolf showed him images on his cell phone, “including infants and toddlers being penetrated by…adult men.”
In addition, the complaint states that, earlier this month, an undercover F.B.I. agent was introduced to Wolf by the dealer as his “roommate” and someone who was also interested in child porn.
On Nov. 16, the undercover visited Wolf at his Chelsea office and secretly recorded their conversation. They discussed child porn Web sites, and at one point Wolf said he preferred “more perverted” sites. The dentist then reportedly plugged a flash drive into his computer and ran a cord from it to a large screen, on which he showed the agent 35 minutes of child porn.
Many of the images were reportedly of young girls, ages 5 to 13, engaging in sex acts with other children and adults. One video, according to the complaint, showed a man having vaginal intercourse with a girl who is only around age 2 to 4. Wolf was said to have been particularly “excited” about a video featuring an 8-year-old “retarded” girl engaged in sex.
“At various times Wolf audibly moaned and made comments such as ‘oh my God’ and ‘that’s some twisted [s—],’” the complaint states.
During the visit, the dentist reportedly told the G-man there had been sex parties in the building’s basement.
Federal agents searched Wolf’s home and office last Friday and found meth and a flash drive with 246 files, mostly child porn, the Times reported.
Wolf is charged with conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intention to distribute it, and with possession and distribution of child pornography.
Some of Wolf’s other claims that were allegedly secretly recorded by the informant — such as that the dentist, who is H.I.V. positive, had “at times” purposefully tried to pass the virus on to sex partners by poking holes in condoms, and had attended underground beastiality parties in the city, including in Brooklyn, where there was sex with animals — were “just in [the complaint] to prejudice,” his attorney, Marc Agnifilio, stated, according to the Times.
“It’s not part of the charges, so it shouldn’t be in the complaint,” he said, adding that Wolf was likely whacked out on meth when he said those things.
His attorney stated, “He seems to be a very good dentist with a drug problem.”
According to the Times, Wolf admitted to possessing child porn, denied having sex with minors and “indicated he was unwilling to discuss his drug use or distribution.”
Wolf has a history of AIDS activism, and won a lawsuit to allow him to treat patients who were H.I.V. positive over his landlord’s objections, the Times reported. He formerly sang with the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District argued that Wolf is a danger to the community, and Wolf was being held without bail.
