ARRESTS MAY SLOW HEROIN TRAFFICKING

Milwaukee-To- Ozaukee Pipeline Is Busy, Deadly

Cedarburg - Jerry R. Cote, 19, who had a history of heroin use, was
found dead of a suspected overdose the night of Sept. 15 in a Town of
Grafton apartment. If what investigators suspect proves to be true,
it will be the fourth heroin-related death in the state's wealthiest
and geographically smallest county in less than a year, putting it on
at least a par with other more populous Milwaukee-area counties.

Besides the deaths, at least 12 teenagers and young adults have
landed in jail on heroin charges, while an unknown number of overdose
victims have landed in local emergency rooms in the past year.

Altogether, it's evidence that the heroin pipeline between Milwaukee
and Ozaukee County is perhaps the metro area's busiest, says one of
the leading investigators of heroin trafficking in southeast Wisconsin.

"We have more people coming (to Milwaukee to buy heroin) from Ozaukee
than from Waukesha, without question," said Dave Spakowicz, a special
agent with the state Department of Justice and a supervisor of the
federally funded Milwaukee High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
Heroin Initiative.

Traffic on the pipeline is likely to slow, at least for a while,
because of the dismantling earlier this month of a Milwaukee-based
heroin distribution ring that included [Name redacted], 24, and his
mother, [Name redacted], 49, both of Grafton, who are accused in
federal court of operating as intermediaries between heroin-using
Ozaukee County residents and Milwaukee drug dealers.

A total of 13 people are charged in the case. With the arrests, "a
serious dent in the availability of heroin has been made," Spakowicz
said last week. "We've been busy. But hopefully things will slow down
in Ozaukee County and elsewhere because of this," Spakowicz said.

Much damage, though, has already been done.

Ben Stibbe was sentenced last week to 18 years in prison for
providing a fatal dose of heroin to Angela Raettig, 17, of Cedarburg
last November. He also has been charged with doing the same to
Grafton residents Lynn Smaxwill, 43, in 2002 and last October to
Matthew Kobiske, 21, and James Helm, 47.

By comparison, in other metro area counties:

- -- In the last year, there has been one fatal heroin overdose in
Washington County, county Medical Examiner Kelly McAndrews said. That
was Anthony Flannery, 18, of West Bend, who was found dead on June 19.

- -- In Waukesha County, two people died of heroin overdoses in each of
the two previous years, according to the county medical examiner's
office. Numbers for 2006 were not available.

- -- In Milwaukee County, there have been 11 heroin-related overdose
deaths in 2006 so far. That's on pace with 2005, when there were 15
fatal heroin overdoses, said Eileen Weller, administrative manager
with the county medical examiner's office. "We have not seen an
increase like the outlying counties have," Weller said.

- -- Racine County has had three heroin overdose deaths so far in 2006,
according to the medical examiner's office there. Disturbing trend

Experts say data on the number of heroin arrests and non-fatal heroin
overdoses is hard to come by, due to privacy regulations and gaps in
communication among law enforcement agencies.

But they say heroin use is higher than ever, especially among teens
and young adults.

"It's higher than anytime in our history. We're seeing a trend the
last few years that is disturbing," said Waukesha Sheriff's Capt.
Eric Severson, who heads the Metro Drug Enforcement Unit.

That's due to two basic factors, officials say.

One is that heroin today is purer, often 70% pure, compared with
years past when purity usually was less than 10%, Spakowicz said.

"That means all you have to do is snort it to get the same high" as
injecting the drug intravenously, he said. "You don't have to worry
about HIV or hepatitis.

"But once your tolerance level is up, injecting becomes the most
efficient way to continue getting that same high," he said.

The other is that teens are simply more susceptible to addiction than
adults, "whether it's to alcohol or heroin, because their bodies and
their brains are still developing," said Shea Halula, a prevention
specialist with Ozaukee Council Inc., a private non-profit
organization that promotes drug- and alcohol-free lifestyles for
teenagers in Ozaukee County.

Ozaukee County Circuit Court documents show that several teenagers,
including Raettig, who first used heroin the summer before she died,
had been using heroin for only a few months before they were addicted.

One 21-year-old woman, who was used as a confidential source by
federal agents in the investigation of the Milwaukee drug ring, told
investigators that she began using heroin in 2001 when she was 16
years old, having been introduced to the drug by Ben Stibbe,
according to court documents.

One month after she began using heroin, the girl was spending up to
$80 a day on the drug.

Many suburbanites think their families are immune from heroin,
mistakenly thinking it's an inner city drug, officials say.

And, many of those arrested on heroin charges are from high-achieving
backgrounds, officials say.

"This is a very dangerous drug," said Severson, of the Metro Drug
Enforcement Unit in Waukesha.

"I've met good kids, good athletes, good students with good grades
and good parents who do everything right. And then they get a chance
to do heroin, and it ruins everything because now they are going to
be dealing with it the rest of their lives.

"The barbs run deep. That's why prevention is key," Severson said.
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For a list of Ozaukee County heroin incidents in the past year, see
www.jsonline.com/links/heroin
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