RING SENT DRUGS THROUGH U.S. MAIL TO KERN PRISON

State and county officials say they have busted up a drug operation that
involved smuggling letters laced with methamphetamine into North Kern State
Prison and other correctional facilities.

Computer-generated letters reading "Happy Birthday" and "We miss you" were
printed on notebook-sized paper authorities believe was mixed with the drug
and mailed to inmates, said Keith Marshall, a lieutenant with the state
Department of Corrections.

Charged were North Kern inmate Joseph Dunne, 42, Ellen Powell, 42, of Los
Angeles and Donald Peifer, 34, of Los Angeles.

Dunne, Powell and Peifer were charged in May and sentenced recently. Peifer
was sentenced Thursday.

District Attorney Ed Jagels said he hoped the bust would send a message
that authorities would not tolerate contraband in correctional facilities
in Kern County.

"What we're saying is — 'no matter how high-tech your operation is ...
we'll get you,'" Jagels said at a press conference.

Marshall said investigators believe Dunne, doing time at North Kern on
several offenses that included drug crimes, masterminded the operation from
prison.

Dunne also taught Powell, who before this had no major brushes with the
law, how to manufacture the meth paper, Marshall said. Peifer also helped
sell the drugs while on parole from the California Correctional Institution
in Tehachapi, he said.

Once inside the prison walls, the paper was sold for profit, eaten for a
high or used to barter favors.

The street value of one sheet was $550.

One square-inch of it was enough to get someone high for about three hours,
Marshall said.

Authorities are uncertain how much of the drug paper got into the prisons,
but Marshall said their investigation centered on as many as 12 inmates
from San Diego to Pelican Bay.

Dunne is the only North Kern inmate who has been charged.

Authorities would not elaborate on how the paper was laced. A computer,
several laser printers and mass quantities of various drugs — which
included crystal methamphetamine — were seized when Powell was arrested.

Prison officials routinely inspect mail and paper goods going to inmates.

The drug paper had the same look and texture as notebook paper and gave off
no odor, North Kern investigator Matt Ervin said.

Officials at the prison became suspicious when some inmates began receiving
letters with fake return addresses. Some of the letters had postmarks and
return addresses that didn't correspond and fictitious names were used.

"We had one where someone signed his name 'Ben Wiggin,'" Marshall said.

Authorities investigated the matter for about three months.

Marshall said Dunne, Powell and Peifer allegedly had been running the
operation for nearly a year before authorities began looking into it.
Marshall said the case would not prompt any changes to policy regarding mail.

"We want inmates to continue to correspond with their families and loved
ones," Marshall said. "We just don't want this kind of correspondence."

Dunne had an additional 11 years added to his current sentence. Powell was
sentenced to two years in prison and Peifer was given nine years.