UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ACCUSED OF TRAFFICKING $500,000 WORTH OF DRUGS

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett Addresses the Media
Wednesday Morning After Nine Current and Former Mansfield University
Students Were Accused of Trafficking As Much As $500,000 Worth of
Cocaine, Marijuana And Prescription Drugs Over the Past 16 Months.

MANSFIELD -- A "drug organization" responsible for selling as much as
$500,000 worth of cocaine, marijuana and OxyContin in the Mansfield
area is out of business following a drug raid Wednesday by state
troopers, probation officers and representatives of the Pennsylvania
Attorney General's Office.

Police filed charges against 10 current or former Mansfield
University students, including three from New York, and the seven who
were arraigned on Wednesday went to the Tioga County Prison when they
failed to post bail.

The arrests followed a 16-month-long investigation known in the
Attorney General's Office as "Operation Failing Grade."

Tioga County District Attorney John F. Cowley thanked that office and
state troopers for their combined effort to help rid the university
of illegal drugs.

"I know many of you view this as a negative," Cowley said at a press
conference Wednesday morning at the state police barracks in Richmond
Township. "I view it as a positive.

"We cannot allow people who want to deal drugs to do it at the
university," he said. "It's just that simple. Mansfield University is
an integral part of our county ... and it provides great educational services.

"The message here is do not do this," said Cowley, a Mansfield
alumnus. "If you choose to engage in that conduct, you are at risk."

Use of illegal drugs and improper use of prescription drugs is
widespread throughout Pennsylvania and the region, Cowley said. But
police continue to fight it.

"It is reality," Cowley said. "Drugs are a reality in our society.
What is good is something is being done. And that's the message we
need to carry forward."

University President Maravene Loeschke said university workers take
illegal drug use on campus "incredibly seriously" and she applauded
the undercover effort that led to Wednesday's arrests.

"I want to thank state police most sincerely for helping us on our
campus deal with any drug activity we might have," she said. "This is
a very sad day for us because inevitably, it involves our students
very deeply -- both the ones who have to live with this problem
around them and those who are in difficulty because of it.

"We will not tolerate any drug activity at Mansfield University," she
said. "So don't come here, to Mansfield, if you're planning to do this."

Keeping drugs away from university students is key to the school's
success -- and its future, Cowley said.

"I don't think parents pay that tuition to have those kids exposed to
drug dealers who may catch kids when they are vulnerable," he said.
"And they get into a downward spiral."

Wednesday's arrests follow action by a statewide grand jury that
focused on two 21year old males, both of Philadelphia.

"According to the grand jury presentment, the two males operated a
drug organization that generated a monthly supply of as much as
one-half kilo of cocaine and five pounds of marijuana during 2005 and
2006," Attorney General Tom Corbett said at the press conference.
"This is $25,000 to $35,000 worth of drugs a month.

"[Name redacted] and [Name redacted] were roommates during that
period at the university," he said. "The grand jury found that [Name
redacted] and [Name redacted] obtained bulk quantities of powder
cocaine and marijuana from suppliers in Philadelphia and other locations.

"The drugs were then divided into smaller quantities for resale to
drug dealers and students in the Mansfield area," Corbett said.
"Between July 14, 2005 and June 6, 2006, Pennsylvania state troopers
made 29 controlled buys from members of this organization totaling
more than $17,000 in marijuana, cocaine and OxyContin."

The drug transactions allegedly occurred at various locations in and
around Mansfield, including apartments, parking lots, fast-food
restaurants and on the university campus, Corbett said, as well as in
Williamsport.

"The grand jury found that both males would often provide cocaine and
marijuana 'on the front,' which means providing it in advance of any
payment, with the agreement that they would be paid after the drugs
were sold," Corbett said. "The individuals who were unable to pay for
the drugs were allegedly threatened with weapons, physically
assaulted or pressured into selling larger quantities of drugs in
order to repay the drug suppliers."