Dean of Students at Massachusetts School Charged With Conspiring to Traffic Cocaine

The dean of students at a high school in western Massachusetts was arrested on Wednesday and charged with conspiring to traffic “large quantities of cocaine” after a nine-month investigation, federal authorities said.

The dean, Lavante Wiggins of Pittsfield High School in Pittsfield, Mass., and another man, Theodore Warren, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Federal prosecutors said that Mr. Warren, 42, served as a “runner” delivering the drug for Mr. Wiggins.

Mr. Wiggins, 30, made an initial appearance in federal court in Springfield, Mass., on Wednesday afternoon; he has not yet entered a plea. A lawyer representing him did not immediately respond to a phone call or an email.

Joseph Curtis, the superintendent of Pittsfield Public Schools, said in a statement on Wednesday that Mr. Wiggins had been placed on administrative leave effective immediately.

Pittsfield, a city of 43,000 people in the largely rural Berkshires region of Massachusetts, has lost jobs and population since an enormous General Electric plant that once employed thousands shut down in the 1980s. Its high school enrolls about 700 students; more than half are considered low income, according to state data.

On the Facebook page for Pittsfield High School, a post from April 2021 welcomed Mr. Wiggins as the new dean of students. Dozens of commenters enthusiastically applauded the announcement. “Great hire!” one posted. “This news made my day.”