ARRESTS OF DEALERS CREATE NEW LEADS IN DRUG PROBE

Authorities Hope Effort Sends Message To Traffickers

Racine - The recent arrests of several alleged major drug dealers have
given local and federal investigators new leads in a drug probe that began
a year and a half ago, according to federal and local law enforcement
officials.

Officials hope that sends a message to drug traffickers still on the street
that they are being watched.

The arrests of four men described as mid-to upper-level drug dealers in
Racine, and the recovery of cocaine and marijuana worth more than $700,000,
was made possible through a cooperative effort involving the Racine Police
and Racine County Sheriff's Departments and the FBI, officials said at a
joint news conference Tuesday.

The arrests show that sometimes-competing and overlapping law enforcement
agencies are able to team up and mount a war on drugs stronger than any
single effort, officials said.

In a message aimed directly at drug dealers, FBI Special Agent Jeffrey J.
Berkin said, "It gives you no place to hide. Whether you operate in the
city, county or elsewhere in the state or in the United States or
internationally we will come and find you and put you out of business."

The decision by Racine law enforcement agencies and the FBI to team up came
partially by accident.

"We discovered we were watching the same drug dealers," Racine police Lt.
Jim Dobbs said. Dobbs coordinates his department's role in the investigation.

Federal and local investigators compared notes at the end of 1999, then
decided in January 2000 to work together, Dobbs said.

Berkin and Dobbs were joined at the Wednesday news conference by Police
Chief David Spenner and Racine County Sheriff William McReynolds.

Plastic bags and other containers holding most of the 115 pounds of
marijuana and 1,709 grams of cocaine recovered in the latest busts were
displayed on tables along with several confiscated guns.

Dobbs declined to say whether any of the men recently picked up are
cooperating with investigators. However, the arrests, made possible in part
through a series of drug buys made by undercover officers, will lead to
follow-up checks of people known to have associated with the defendants,
Dobbs said.

Developing cases against suspected drug dealers like the ones recently
arrested is not a simple matter, according to Dobbs.

"Many of the targets we go after we've known about for a long time," he
said. "Their names come up for several years. It's just a matter of finding
them and getting them dirty."

Two of the four suspects, both Racine residents ages 19 and 35, are
expected to be charged in federal court, Dobbs said.

A third defendant, Anselmo Mendez, 31, of the 2000 block of Carter St., is
being held in the Racine County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond. He has been
charged with four drug-related felonies.

The fourth defendant, Christopher Petersen, 21, of the 400 block of Lake
Ave., has been released from jail after posting a $50,000 bond. Petersen is
facing two counts.