DRUG DEALER GETS 20 YEAR PRISON SENTENCE

WAUKESHA - A Mexican national living in Waukesha has been sent to
prison for 20 years and will likely be deported after he serves an
additional 15 years on extended supervision after running one of the
largest drug operations the city has ever seen.

Jose Meraz, 19, was also fined $18,000 after he was convicted of
several counts of possessing marijuana and cocaine with intent to
deliver.

Meraz was arrested at his Waukesha home when undercover police set up
deals for cocaine in November. At the residence, police found a
kilogram of cocaine - about 2.2 pounds - and 17 pounds of marijuana
packaged in one-pound bags.

Assistant District Attorney Bill Roach displayed the drugs on a
courtroom table which he said was not big enough to hold all of them.
He estimated the street value of the drugs $40,000 or more.

Roach said the bust "ranks up there" as one of the biggest in the
city's history. He said the fact that Meraz had a loaded pistol in
his waistband at the time of his arrest was a recipe for disaster.

"This is a benchmark in law enforcement and the drug world," Roach
said. "You just do not see dealers of this level able to obtain this
level of marijuana and cocaine. It just doesn't happen that often."

Several others have been prosecuted as a result of the case. Manuel
Torrero, 19, who often acted as interpreter for Meraz, has pleaded
guilty to delivery charges and tax stamp violations and will be
sentenced June 4. Alfonso Valdez-Acosta, 18, was placed on probation
for 18 months after pleading no contest to a charge of running a drug
house.

Jose Meraz-Enriquez, 21, Meraz's brother, also received a probation
term for running a drug house. Roach said the men were "minimally
involved" in the operation and Meraz was the mastermind.

Jess Martinez, Meraz's attorney, said Meraz was an illegal resident
who came here from a life in poverty in Mexico, where his family
could only afford a sixth-grade education for him. After the
sentence, Meraz expects to be deported, he said.

Martinez recommended a prison term of five to eight years, as well as
the Challenge Incarceration Program, the "boot camp" for first-time
non-violent offenders.

Meraz asked for a chance to turn his life around.

"We are all humans and we all commit errors in life. I think we all
deserve a chance," he said through an interpreter.

Judge James Kieffer told him that drug dealing is "out-and-out wrong"
everywhere.

"You sold drugs because you got greedy and as a result you became
deeper and deeper involved in the sale of drugs," he said.

"You are a big-time drug dealer in southeastern Wisconsin and you had
access to substantial amounts of drugs which found their way onto our
streets," Kieffer said. "It's individuals such as yourself that cause
these poisons to enter the community and (create) the problems they
cause."