BOX DELIVERED TO HOTEL LEADS TO NARCOTICS BUST

Employees at the Thunderbird Hotel in Sunny Isles Beach got a surprise
Tuesday evening when they opened a box stuffed with cocaine and marijuana.

Although the package, sent from New Jersey, had only the hotel's address on
it and no name, police were able to make an arrest.

Capt. Fred Maas said it was a hotel employee who helped detectives track
the recipient of the package.

Maas said that before the package arrived, a man called the hotel and spoke
to an employee, asking him to hold the package, which contained important
documents. The caller said he would be at the hotel later to pick it up.

When the package arrived, the suspicious employee took it to the manager,
who used a razor blade to open the box.

When it was opened, a strong marijuana scent filled the room. Inside the
package were a dozen small baggies filled with a white powder, along with
cigarettes and a cellular phone.

The manager called police.

Detectives Ray Atesiano and Paul Manzella set up the sting.

The hotel employee was instructed to say the package had arrived safely
when the man called back to arrange a pickup.

A half-hour later, police arrested Peter Monforte, 48, of North Miami
Beach, and charged him with possession of narcotics.