ALLENTOWN WINS A BATTLE IN WAR ON DRUGS, VIOLENCE

If a drug-trafficking organization could be described as an "evil
predator," the predator's head was cut off on Friday, said Capt.
Theodore Kohuth, Troop M commander of the Pennsylvania State Police.

"Today is a good day for Allentown," said Kohuth during a news
conference announcing the arrests of 28 people accused of drug dealing
as members of the Killer Team Bloods gang. "Make no mistake about it."

The arrests seem to give police and the public a better focus on some
generally accepted assumptions about drugs and violence, not only in
Allentown, but across the region.

For instance, the accused drug traffickers arrested on Friday have
connections to New York City -- specifically Brooklyn. Law enforcement
has pointed the finger at New York as a longtime contributor to
Allentown's problems with drugs and violence.

"I think it's important to point out that when you talk about an
organization, you have a hierarchy," Kohuth said. "The hierarchy of this
organization has its roots in New York City."

Another common notion is that Allentown's gangs were gangs in name only,
and not the "mega-gangs" of the West Coast that battle over territory
and violations of gang protocol. Some law enforcement officials had
described Allentown's gangs as loosely organized "wannabes" that clash
over the drug trade.

Police and prosecutors said Friday they had no evidence to suggest that
members of the Killer Team Bloods were affiliated with any other Bloods
"set" in Allentown or any other local city. That includes the Easton
Bloods, who were prosecuted by federal authorities beginning in August
1999.

"This is a separate set of the gang known as the Bloods," said Lehigh
County District Attorney James B. Martin.

Friday's arrests came after an investigation that didn't include federal
authorities, Martin said.

In March 2000, Allentown and the Pennsylvania state police removed
officers that had been assigned full-time to an FBI-led violent crime
task force that targeted drug gangs.

Allentown Police Chief Carl Held said Friday's arrest showed that his
department, with help from the state police and Lehigh County
detectives, have "the resolve" to fight drugs and violence.

"This should show we mean business," Held said.