PENNSYLVANIA CITY MAKING DENT IN DETROIT DRUG PROBLEM

Huntington isn't the only city that has dealt with an influx of drug
dealers from Detroit.

Several towns along U.S. 23 in Ohio have stories about traffickers
from the Motor City using intimidation and violence to take control
of the drug trade. Their presence has even stretched into Pennsylvania.

It's in the small town of New Castle, Pa., where authorities have had
success. The town, which has a population of about 26,000 and is 50
miles northwest of Pittsburgh, put a dent in its drug trade in
February when police issued arrest warrants for 28 members of two
drug rings that moved at least $2 million worth of crack cocaine
since 2003. Seventeen of the fugitives were from Detroit.

Since then, authorities have arrested 20 people in connection with
the drug rings, including two Detroiters identified as the leaders:
Lamarol "Tone" Abram, 28, and James "O.Z." Brooks, 39.

Police there also made an important arrest there last week -- a man
believed to be one of the city's key local drug lords.

New Castle Mayor Wayne Alexander has a poster with the fugitives'
pictures hanging on the wall in his office. Every time someone is
arrested, he marks them off, he said.

"I'm not trying to paint a pretty picture that we have gotten rid of
all of our drug problems in New Castle," Alexander said. "But we've
reached a point where it's manageable."

Out-of-town crack dealers have been coming to New Castle ever since
demand for the drug surged in the 1980s, Alexander said.

Detroiters are attracted to the town because it's only four hours
away, said Nils Frederiksen, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania
Attorney General's Office, which helped local authorities disband the
drug rings. New Castle also is the only urban center within a 50-mile
radius, and big-city dealers perceive there to be a small police
presence, he said.

The pipeline between Detroit and Pennsylvania strengthened in 2003
after New Castle authorities arrested several local dealers during a
drug sweep, Frederiksen said.

"It began with several Detroiters working out of local crack houses.
Then they began setting up their own crack houses," he said. "As the
power shifted, we saw them bring in more of their colleagues. They
knew there was money to be made in New Castle."

An ounce of crack cocaine that cost $500 in Detroit was broken down
into small quantities and sold for as much as $2,500 in New Castle,
Frederiksen said.

As their profits increased, the drug dealers became more brazen. They
operated crack houses within view of the New Castle Police Department
and started bringing in 14- and 15-year-old boys from Detroit to sell
crack on the streets. Every month or so, the teenage dealers would be
replaced with a new fleet of boys from Detroit to throw off local
authorities, Frederiksen said.

When Alexander was elected in 2004, he said he implemented a
zero-tolerance policy on drugs.

"My people were afraid and intimidated," he said. "I'll never forget
the day a mother called me and said she had lost her daughter. She
said she was the valedictorian of her high school class, but never
got to go to college, because she became addicted to crack. That
showed me this drug has no boundaries."

Alexander said he met with state representatives and Pennsylvania's
Congressional delegation several times to formulate a plan. Within
months, FBI and DEA officials were helping New Castle's 32-officer
department conduct undercover investigations on the drug rings. Local
authorities also teamed up with the U.S. Marshals Service to arrest
fugitives that had gone back to Detroit.

To get rid of crack houses, Alexander said the U.S. Attorney's Office
in Pittsburgh used a federal statute that punishes landlords who
allow drug activity in their properties.

"Whenever we got a documented complaint about a crack house, the
landlord was notified," Alexander said. "If they didn't do anything
to clean the situation up, they could go to jail, forfeit their
property and pay up to a $10,000 fine."

The city also increased its traffic enforcement efforts on the
fringes of town. Alexander said he recalls one four-hour period when
police made 10 drug-related arrests after stopping motorists for
traffic violations.

Perhaps the most critical part of battling New Castle's drug problem
has been making residents feel like they are part of the solution,
Alexander said. The city did that by forming neighborhood block and
community watch committees and starting an anonymous drug tip line.

"As mayor, it's my responsibility to take the lead in this effort,"
he said. "If the people have the confidence in their mayor and police
department, that's half the battle. You have to create a winning atmosphere."

Despite the recent success, New Castle still has a long way to go,
Alexander said. The drug problem has led to prostitutes standing on
street corners in the middle of New Castle's downtown, which is
undergoing a major revitalization project, he said. He said if the
local newspaper is willing, his plan is to publish the photos of
anyone arrested for solicitation.

Alexander said he became aware of Huntington's drug problem after
reading a front-page story about the May 22, 2005, shooting deaths of
four teenagers in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in March. He said he
has briefly spoken to Huntington Police Chief Arthur E. "Gene"
Baumgardner about the cities' similar problems and has invited Mayor
David Felinton, Baumgardner and other law enforcement officials to
come to New Castle. He's still waiting for them to accept the
invitation, he said.

"I feel for the problems Huntington is going through," he said. "I
think we can share ideas and learn from each other. We both know what
it feels like when entire neighborhoods are taken over by this element."