ALLEGED HEROIN SELLER TO REVEAL 'REAL DEAL'

Arrested last week by the state attorney general's office on drug
trafficking charges, West Scranton Crime Watch President Freda Joseph said
she is innocent and that her intentions will eventually be revealed. Ms.
Joseph, 61, dressed in a tan uniform, spoke to a reporter through a glass
divider Tuesday night at the Lackawanna County Prison, where she has been
held for lack of $75,000 bail since her arrest last week.

She offered an apology to Mayor Jim Connors, several members of the police
force, including Chief Jim Klee, and her crime watch group.

"Those people were all good to me," she said. "I didn't mean to hurt anybody."

The apology, however, was not an admission of guilt.

Ms. Joseph, who broke down in tears at one point in the conversation, said
investigators for the attorney general's office don't have their facts
straight.

State Attorney General Mike Fisher contends Ms. Joseph was tipping police
to local drug dealers in an attempt to "weed out the competition."

Undercover narcotics agents arrested Ms. Joseph on Thursday on charges of
possessing and selling heroin, using a telephone in connection with drug
sales and criminal conspiracy.

Four of the nine drug charges she faces involve delivering heroin from her
former home at 639 N. Main Ave. between October and November.

Mr. Fisher said Ms. Joseph's illegal drug activity dates back about a year.

Ms. Joseph said all she could reveal publicly at this time was that her
ultimate goal would have been of great benefit to the community. Fearing
for her family's safety, though, Ms. Joseph requested details of her plan
not be made public.

She mentioned that only one person knew what she was trying to accomplish.
Contacted following the prison interview, that individual said Ms. Joseph
revealed her plan several months ago.

Ms. Joseph knows many people have lost faith in her, and would understand
if they didn't believe her.

"They're all embarrassed," she said. "Can you blame them?"

She said she will just have to live with the shame until she can prove her
innocence in court. "When they find out the real deal, they'll feel
differently."