DRUGS MAY BE FAKE, BUT CHARGES ARE REAL

Dealers Fabricate And Sell Crack

That bag containing white rocks being sold on a dark street corner, in the
front seat of a car or in an old, run-down building looks like crack
cocaine.

But sometimes it's pieces of soap, potato or dry wall intended to look like
the illegal drug, to rip off a potential buyer.

Regardless of whether it's the real thing or a ''beat bag'' -- as it's known
on the streets -- selling it is still a crime. The Public Health Law
contains a provision that makes it illegal to ''manufacture, sell or possess
with the intent to sell an imitation controlled substance.''

A couple years ago, the Dutchess County Drug Task Force had information on a
local dealer who was headed to New York City to purchase 4 ounces of cocaine
to bring back and sell. But when members of the task force busted the
suspect, they soon discovered the cocaine was not what it appeared to be.

''He was surprised to find out he got beat,'' Frank Tasciotti, assistant
coordinator of the task force, said of the suspect. ''We were a little bit
shocked, too.''

Lesser Sentence

Though the suspect lost thousands of dollars on the bad deal, he was able to
find a silver lining. Instead of facing a sentence of 15 years to life if
the substance had been cocaine, his crime ended up being a misdemeanor that
carries a sentence of a year at most in the county jail.

''They'd only be real happy that they've gotten ripped off after
everything's all said and done,'' Tasciotti said.

The most common situation where someone is selling fake drugs is an addict
selling the phony dope to get some money for a quick fix, said Sgt. Brett
Orlich, supervisor of the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department's
Neighborhood Recovery Unit.

And, unbelievably, law enforcement does receive complaints from those who
got beat by the dealer, though it is rare, he said.

''They'll bring the police into it, telling the police that so and so ripped
them off of $20,'' Orlich said. ''We just send them on their way. It's a
learning experience.''

Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams said cases of fake drugs
being sold are most common in the crack trade.

''What we routinely see are individuals that are claiming to sell crack
cocaine and it ends up many times it may be mothball flakes or something of
that nature,'' Williams said. ''It's relatively easy to find or make a
substance that has the same outward manifestations of crack.''

While such crimes are prosecuted, law enforcement tries to dedicate more
time and effort to going after people dealing the real thing, Williams said.
The system is already overloaded with cases involving actual narcotics, he
said.

''They are not prosecuted as aggressively, nor do we believe that act is as
significant as an individual who sells a controlled substance,'' Williams
said. ''We have to prioritize and select those cases that will afford us the
most efficient and effective deterrent value. The individuals that are
possessing or selling real drugs fit that description much more readily.''