Sopranos star's drug dodge

A DRUG charge that could have sent Sopranos cast member Richard Maldone to jail for 15 years was thrown out yesterday by a Queens judge on the grounds that District Attorney Richard Brown does not have jurisdiction over the case.

But Judge Richard Buchter left open the possibility the case could be re-argued in Nassau County because Maldone allegedly sold the drug ketamine out of his Long Beach home.

Maldone, 38, who plays kingpin Albert Barese on the hit HBO drama, was arrested in April along with 29 others.