DRUG SUSPECTS FACE DEATH

MERRILLVILLE - The conspiracy charges announced Monday against Gary
police officer Jamie Ervin and three other alleged members of the
multimillion-dollar Zambrana drug operation may lead the four to the
death chamber, federal authorities said at a news conference at the
FBI office.

Ervin, 30, and fellow officer Luis Roman, are both named in a 59-page
indictment issued Friday by a federal grand jury in Hammond, U.S.
Attorney David Capp said.

It is the third revision of charges related to the Gary-based drug
operation, and includes allegations the two officers profited from
Jay Zambrana's cocaine, heroin and marijuana sales. Ten men are named
in the new indictment, which includes charges that would recoup $6
million, several homes and businesses, as well as bank accounts and
other holdings from the suspects if they are convicted.

Zambrana, Roman and 13 others were indicted in February 2000. Seven -
Denny Areola, Willie Bailey, Linda Castel, Anthony Clinton, Carlos
Ripoll, Juan Rivera and Frank Rodriguez - have pleaded guilty.

Ervin and Javier Salas of Hobart are the two new names on the latest
charges. Salas worked at Ultimate Motor Sales on Ridge Road in Glen
Park, a hub of drug activity, investigators said.

Their charges were the result of additional investigation that
includes information provided by confidential sources working inside
the drug operation.

Clinton, who pleaded guilty, is a childhood friend of Ervin's. The
two maintained contact after Ervin became a police officer in 1992,
sources said.

"This is a difficult press conference for all of us," Capp said. "If
the public does not have trust in police officers, their efforts go
for naught. This is a step to restore that trust for the good men and
women of law enforcement."

The trial for Zambrana, Roman, Benavides, David Colon, Antonio
Herrera, Elbert Johnson, Everette Jolly and Luis "Flaco" Perez is
scheduled for Oct. 1, Capp said.

Ervin, Zambrana, Benavides and Perez are accused of conspiring to
kill rival Illinois drug dealers Raul Hurtado and Gil Nevarez in 1998.

Ervin was in his police uniform, driving a marked squad and on duty
the night federal investigators say he and Benavides strangled the
two men inside the Puerto Rican Benefit Club on Zambrana's orders,
with help from Perez.

According to testimony by federal investigators at Ervin's detention
hearing, Perez lured the victims to his home in Glen Park to make a
drug purchase. Ervin, who was assigned to patrol in Glen Park, was
summoned to stop the victims' car. He took nine kilograms of cocaine
from the car, then drove the handcuffed men to the club at 400 W. 5th
Ave.

The victims' burned bodies were found in the trunk of their car in
south Chicago, less than one block from Ervin's childhood home,
investigators said. Chicago police assisted in the case, Capp said.

Ervin is being detained, while Roman, who was arrested in December
1999, is not in custody. Roman is charged with drug conspiracy, but
the maximum penalty he faces is life in prison.

For Ervin and the three others, "this elevates the case to
potentially face the death penalty. There has been no decision yet on
any of these individuals," Capp said.

The death penalty option involves a lengthy process, with a final
decision made at the highest levels in Washington, Capp said.

Capp presided over a news conference at the FBI office here, where he
distributed copies of the indictment and asked for the public's help
in locating two fugitives.

Colon, 31, and Benavides, 27, have not been arrested. Officials said
Benavides may be in Mexico.

But Colon, whose home address is in the Brunswick area of Gary, is
probably in the area, officials said.

A federal grand jury indicted Colon's brother, Juan, 34, of Gary, and
Manuel Hernandez Jr., 30, of Lake Station, on May 17. They are
charged with harboring a fugitive.

In early May, federal officials were with Gary detectives when they
saw Colon in a car in Brunswick. Colon eluded the officers, Capp said.

The new indictment adds money laundering charges against Roman, and
dropped a charge accusing him of maintaining a drug house in Glen
Park. A Pontiac Grand Am and a GMC Yukon are vehicles investigators
believe Roman bought with drug money.

Roman was on house arrest until a judge lifted that restriction. He
returned to work briefly earlier this year, but then went on leave.

Chief John Roby is seeking Roman's termination. The Gary Police Civil
Service Commission will conduct a hearing on the matter Aug. 2. Roman
is represented by attorney James Spivak, who could not be reached for
comment.

Roby said he will begin the termination process against Ervin now
that he has been indicted. Ervin has been detained since May 11 on
the criminal complaint filed in the case and is on suspension from
the police department without pay.

Capp praised various law enforcement agencies that have worked
together for more than three years to dismantle the drug distribution
business allegedly run by Zambrana, who has served a prison term for
dealing cocaine.

"This was a very well-organized operation," Capp said.