'DRUG HOUSE' FAMILY MEMBER SENTENCED

BOSTON, April 22 (UPI) - A member of the notorious Smith family in
Chelsea was sentenced to up to four years in state prison today on
drug trafficking charges. Mary Smith, 35, is the fourth member of the
drug-dealing family to go to prison. The Suffolk County district
attorney's office also obtained a court order to shut down the
family's home in Marlboro Street last year because of its reputation
as a drug den. Mary Smith was arrested in October 1997 after buying
cocaine from a dealer in Lynn which she allegedly intended to
distribute in her Chelsea neighborhood. Authorities say Smith
admitted making similar drug buys two or three times a week.

The crack down on the Smith family is part of a Safe Neighborhood
Initiative between the police, prosecutors, residents and merchants,
all working to identify local criminals and clean up the city's streets.