Two are arrested in broccoli head case

A head of broccoli proved costly this week for two local men: One lost $500, the other his freedom in a Lansdale ''drug'' deal that a police officer said might be a first.

Christopher Kratz, 20, of Amity Township, Berks County, was arrested Monday after selling Matthew Dietrich, 21, of 280 Carrie Lane, Lower Salford Township, a $500 bag of the green vegetable he was trying to pass off as marijuana, Lansdale police said.

Dietrich, who police say dialed 911 to alert them to the drug deal gone bad, also faces charges after he allegedly made up a story about being roughed up and robbed behind the Walgreens pharmacy on W. Main Street.



''It is bizarre, isn't it?'' Lansdale police Sgt. Robert McDyre said. ''You'd think [Dietrich would] just say, 'I can't believe I'm that stupid' and leave.''

Kratz apparently didn't have any marijuana to sell, police said, so he took some produce and wrapped it up in three or four bags. ''It's not even like he made an effort to hide it or disguise it,'' McDyre said.

Lansdale police have dealt with cases in which dealers tried to pass off oregano as marijuana, he said, but never broccoli, which is going for $3.49 per pound at a Lansdale area grocery.