TIOGA MAN WANTS TOUGHER DRUG LAWS AFTER SON'S DEATH

TIOGA CENTER - Steven Steiner Sr. of Tioga Center is both grieving and
fuming over the death of his teen-age son, Steven Jr.

The 19-year-old, known to his family and friends as "Stevie," died of a
suspected drug overdose Monday in Florida.

But the grieving father said his son was no druggie, and he has vowed not
to let his son's death simply slip away without notice.

Steiner is calling for a new offensive in the country's war on drugs -
proposing the government institute a new policy complete with a "bounty on
drug dealers."

"If you're pushing or selling death, you get death," Steiner said Friday.
"This stuff can't continue."

Today Steiner, his wife, Julie, and their family and friends will attend a
memorial Mass for Steven Jr. at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick's Catholic church,
300 Main St., Owego, with the Rev. Timothy Niven officiating.

Still, Steiner is resolute in pressing for a new battle plan.

"Everybody talks about the war on drugs," he said. "What has been
accomplished? We've dropped the ball."

Steiner's son, a professional electrician, just moved to Florida last month.

The father said his son landed a "good-paying job" as an electrician, and
Stevie had just received his first paycheck the Friday before his death.

But the teen never got a chance to cash it. The $800 check was found still
tucked inside Stevie's checkbook, Steiner said.

Steiner suggests his son might have been drugged by someone who believed
Stevie had a large amount of cash on him. But Steiner said Stevie
reportedly had only about $30, and that was gone when he was found dead.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office has listed Steiner's death simply as
a "death investigation," but it is being investigated by homicide detectives.

While the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's office said the cause of
death was "pending," Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Diane
Carhart said Stevie's death is listed as a "suspected drug overdose."

Authorities declined further comment until autopsy toxicology tests are
completed.

But Steiner said he learned his son had taken a dose of a potent
prescription drug, Oxycontin, a pain killer used by cancer patients and
others with severe pain.

According to an initial Palm Beach County sheriff's report and information
from Steiner, Stevie's half-brother, Matthew, visited him early Sunday morning.

Matthew, 21, told authorities he gave Stevie "a hit" of a drug that police
declined to identify. Steiner said the drug was Oxycontin.

Matthew told authorities he gave Stevie the drug, and said he last saw
Stevie sometime between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Sunday, lying on the living room
sofa.

While it remains unclear when Matthew returned to Stevie's house Monday, he
found Stevie still on the sofa.

Matthew told police he tried to wake Stevie, but without success. Matthew
even moved the body to the floor in an attempt to wake him, the police
report stated."I am not looking to hang my son or Matthew," Steiner said.
"I am the one that got punished."

"He (Matthew) knows it was a stupid thing to do," Steiner said, adding he
last talked to his stepson Friday.

"The last thing he asked me was whether I still loved him," Steiner said.
"Of course I do."

But on the issue of the battle against illicit drug use, Steiner remains firm.

"We've been doing this for 20 years, but we're not winning it," he said.

"Something needs to change."

memorial fund Contributions in Steven H. Steiner Jr.'s memory may be made
to the Pascuzzo Scholarship Fund, c/o Tioga Central High School, 5th Ave.,
Tioga Center, N.Y. 13845. Funeral arrangements are by the Sutfin Funeral
Chapel, 273 S. Main St., Nichols.

ABOUT OXYCOTIN Oxycontin, an opiate-derived drug, is known on the street as
Oxycotton and "poor man's heroin," according to Brent Eaton, an spokesman
for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in Miami.

Introduced as a prescription drug in the United States in 1966, Oxycontin
has seen a surprisingly rapid rise in popularity in the illicit drug world.
A single tablet typically costs $1 a milligram on the street.

Oxycontin tablet dosages range from 10 milligrams up to 160 milligrams,
meaning a tablet can sell anywhere from $10 to $160.

Taken orally by legitimate users, abusers typically crush the tablet and
inhale or inject the drug intravenously for the greatest effect, Eaton
said. The effect is a heroin-type high.

But like heroin, Oxycontin can become addictive, according to published reports.