HEROIN USE A CONTINUING MENACE IN WAUKESHA COUNTY

Federal charges against 27 people in a suburban heroin ring that led
to five fatal overdoses - four in Waukesha County - may have
temporarily crimped trade in the drug, but more distributors are ready
to step in, law enforcement officials warn.

Of those charged, according to documents unsealed last week, at least
10 are from or have a close tie to the village of Pewaukee, Police
Capt. Tim Otto said. In the last year, seven heroin overdoses have
occurred in the village of 9,000, three of which were fatal, he said.
But only one of those fatal overdose investigations, he said, found a
link to the ring that was recently busted.

"We're not naive to think that we have identified every person who
uses heroin in the village, but I do believe this is a crushing blow
to this dealer-user network in the village," Otto said. "We believe a
couple of people got involved in heroin usage a little over a year
ago, and the use of the drug expanded through a network of friends."

Capt. Charles Wood, who heads the Waukesha County Metro Drug Unit,
said that while the village of Pewaukee has been hit hard this time,
the next group of heroin users may come from New Berlin, Oconomowoc or
Waukesha.

Law enforcement officials don't know exactly how many heroin users
there are in the county, Wood said. It's difficult to investigate
because people using heroin are more concerned with getting the next
fix than telling the truth about their drug use, he added.

"We know far too many students in Waukesha high schools have
experimented with opiates, including heroin," he said. "It's come
here, it's in the community."

"This is reaching into the lives of families that never saw it
coming," Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel said. "These
are decent parents facing a horrible tragedy that's taken them
completely by surprise."

The 2007 Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a nationally
representative survey that the federal government conducts of students
in grades nine through 12 every two years to track a variety of risk
behaviors, including drug, alcohol and tobacco use, shows that 2.2% of
high school students say they have used heroin one or more times
during their life.

John Goetzke of the village of Pewaukee knew his son Andrew, 19, drank
alcohol and experimented with marijuana. He didn't know his son tried
heroin until his death was ruled a heroin overdose. Since his son's
death, Goetzke said, people are telling him how many other kids he
knows are using heroin. He estimated one in four people in his son's
graduating class has tried heroin.

"We have been aware for a long time that there is a heroin problem in
Waukesha County," said Claudia Roska, executive director of the
Addiction Resource Council, a Waukesha-based organization.

"I would not doubt that 25% of the kids tried heroin or an opiate-type
drug. Heroin and other opiate drugs are not unusual. It's not an urban
thing. We need to wake up."

Today, users start with prescription painkillers such as oxycodone or
hydrocodone and then graduate to the stronger but cheaper drug heroin,
law enforcement officials said.

OxyContin, which is a brand of oxycodone, costs about $1 per
milligram, making a 40-milligram dose worth $40. Heroin, on the other
hand, costs $10 to $20 per dose, according to law enforcement
authorities.

Although the heroin problem is becoming more visible, it remains
largely out of sight in Waukesha County, Roska said.

"The use of drugs is widespread," she said. "It used to be an
inner-city problem, but that hasn't been the case for a long time. But
it's hidden in the suburbs. People have others purchase the drugs for
them. There's privacy - people have huge estates to have parties on.
They aren't on the street corners using."

But the Pewaukee School District disputes the 25% estimate by the
grieving father.

"We believe that the estimate given of our student body is overstated.
The estimate is extremely high," Assistant Superintendent John Gahan
said.

But, he added, "it came as a surprise that this is in our
community."

Otto said police have never found any evidence of heroin use in the
schools.

Muskego police have known for some time that heroin use has been
increasing, said Muskego Police Lt. David Constantineau. Muskego
police investigated the heroin overdose death in February of Jeffrey
S. Topczewski, 22. Topczewski's sister, Jennifer Topczewski, 24, is
one of the 27 people charged with selling heroin.

Four of the people charged in the heroin ring are from
Muskego.

"The amount of people using this drug on a regular basis - it floors
me," Constantineau said.