LAWMAN'S RELATIVE WARNED ABOUT DRUG RAID, DEALER SAYS

CAMDEN - A major city drug trafficker testified in federal court
Wednesday that he was tipped to a raid on his home by a relative of an
investigator for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

Kenneth Waller did not elaborate on whether the investigator
deliberately leaked the information, or if he inadvertently mentioned
the June 2, 1997, raid to a cousin, who passed it on.

The tip may have allowed Waller to remove incriminating items from
three properties in Camden, including his home, and two properties in
Collingswood that a multi-agency task force raided that day.

It was the second day of testimony for Waller during the trial of Jose
"JR" Rivera, 40, of Cherry Hill, and Luis ''Tun Tun'' Figueroa, 34, of
Ciales, Puerto Rico. Prosecutors say the men are the leaders of the
biggest drug syndicate, known as "The Organization," operating here in
the 1990s.

Waller was arrested during the June 1997 raid and charged by state
authorities with being a drug kingpin. He was indicted on federal
charges eight months later as a member of The Organization and pleaded
guilty.

Waller, a drug dealer who owned a fleet of luxury cars and fraternized
with professional athletes, testified he was tipped as early as April
1997 that a raid would come sometime near June 1.

He said Alfred ''Curly'' Kee, whom Waller identified as a cocaine
buyer, supplied him the information. Waller said Kee learned about the
raid from a first cousin - the investigator.

That investigator, Jerome Kee, testified last week in the same trial
about his participation in the raid at Waller's home at 1055 Langham
Ave., Camden.

Jerome Kee could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

Camden County Prosecutor Lee Solomon said the allegation has been
investigated but that he could not comment further until after the
trial.

It was the second time an investigator from the Camden County
Prosecutor's Office has been mentioned in the trial, now a month old.

Another major dealer, Lucas Torres, told jurors that a now-deceased
former head of Camden County's narcotics task force shook him down for
$5,000 a week in 1992 with the threat of arrest. Torres ran a 24-hour
drug market at 33rd Street in East Camden, one of two major drug
markets run by The Organization. The allegation against the task force
member was never substantiated.

Waller, who is cooperating with the government, also testified about
his Camden-based company, Hidden Face Inc., which he established in
1996 to promote ''entertainment parties with celebrities.''

Rivera's attorney, Marc Neff, asked Waller if he knew basketball stars
Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers, Jerry Stackhouse of the
Detroit Pistons and Mike Finley of the Dallas Mavericks.

Waller testified he had floor-level seats for Sixers' games and knew
Iverson enough to say hello to him. When pressed if he knew Iverson
socially, Waller said he knew him ''outside the game.'' Waller did not
elaborate.

Neff also asked if Waller knew Mike Rozier, the 1983 Heisman Trophy
winner and a 1980 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School.

Rozier, who made millions as a pro, was shot in a drug area in East
Camden on Nov. 6, 1996. Rozier told police he was shot in an
unprovoked attack by a drunk.

Waller, who played football at Camden High School where he graduated
in 1985, was friends with Rozier. Rozier ended his career in 1993 with
the Atlanta Falcons.

Neff never said why he asked Waller about his relationships with the
sports stars. He declined to explain further after court.

Manuel ''Manny'' Cordero, a 50-year-old admitted drug addict and
member of The Organization, also took the witness stand on Wednesday.
Through an interpreter, he detailed numerous trips between 1991 and
1995 to Puerto Rico to deliver or pick up drugs and money. Several of
those trips were made for Figueroa and Saul Febo, who ran The
Organization's East Camden drug market known as ''The Alley,'' Cordero
testified.

He later recounted the violence that surrounded the drug syndicate,
specifically about a test of loyalty that Figueroa devised for one of
its members.

Court papers allege Figueroa ordered Manuel ''Manoling'' DeJesus to
kill two of DeJesus' friends who Figueroa suspected were conspiring
with DeJesus to take over The Alley.

Cordero said he drove DeJesus and two associates in a black Audi on
Aug. 13, 1993, to carry out the order. Cordero said he stayed in the
car and did not fire any shots.

DeJesus and the associates shot at the targets repeatedly, Cordero
testified. But he said DeJesus did not hit either of the intended
targets, who fired back.

In the crossfire, court records show, Alexi Sequi Babilonia, a
21-year-old bystander, was gunned down. Cordero testified Wednesday he
saw two men wounded.

Cordero testified that shortly after the shootout he overheard
DeJesus' wife, Rosa, telling her husband that he should kill Figueroa
and Febo to take over the drug market. Cordero said he told Figueroa
about the conversation soon after during a car trip to Bordentown.

''Tun Tun got very angry,'' Cordero said. ''Tun Tun told me something
has to be done about Manoling.''

Two months later, DeJesus was lured into The Alley and his gun was
taken away, court papers state. DeJesus' body was later found in
Philadelphia, stuffed in the trunk of a stolen car that had been set
ablaze.

Figueroa has been charged with the murder in a separate state charge.
No trial date has been set.

The trial is scheduled to resume today.