SECOND CON DIES OF DRUG OVERDOSE

A second of three Mimico inmates who overdosed on the weekend died Tuesday
morning amid suspicions that a fourth inmate brought the killer drugs into
the jail.

Paul George Rodrigues, 29, of Mississauga, died at St. Joseph's Hospital,
three days after he appeared to have survived the same drug that killed
Jason Motton, 20.

It's hoped a third overdose victim, Steve Savard, 33, will live, but after
Rodrigues's sudden downturn and death, any prognosis is guarded, said Metro
Police Det. Bill Vieira.

An inquest into the two deaths has been called and Vieira has asked for a
quick return on toxicology tests in order to find out what drug was used.

Vieira said he has interviewed Savard and 25 other weekend inmates bunked
in the 28man unit where the men were found unconscious in their beds
Saturday morning.

Other than confirming that the drugs were taken on Friday night, Vieira
refused to reveal what he had been told.

Inmate sources at the mediumsecurity jail, however, say it is believed a
fourth man brought the lethal dope into the jail by swallowing a
drugfilled condom.

One former inmate told Sun Media Newspapers that drugs are so pervasive in
Mimico the smell wafts through the units.

"You can smell the crack burning," said the former con, who asked for
anonymity.

YOU CAN GET ANYTHING

"You can get anything you want in there. Heroin was going for $50 for
onetenth of a gram."

The street price for heroin is about $300 to $400 a gram.

He said weekend inmates smuggle the drugs in on Friday nights, either by
swallowing drugfilled condoms or by hiding it in their anuses. Convicts
who leave the jail as part of outside work crews return with drugs and drug
swaps are common during family visits, said the con.

Other inmates confirm the proliferation of crack cocaine, heroin and
marijuana, but they add it is easier to get it in than to use it because
guards are vigilant.

One inmate said guards can look into the most intimate places for the
drugs, but if the contraband is "pushed up far enough" they won't see or
find them.

All three overdose victims were serving weekend sentences: Motton was given
30 days for assault causing bodily harm and forcible confinement; Rodrigues
75 days for theft under $5,000 and Savard 75 days for impaired driving.

Guards' union president Gary Harrison said guards do a "good job" finding
the drugs when they are being taken, but they cannot possibly stop the
illegal flow into the prison.

Every Friday, he noted, 350 weekend inmates show up at Mimico. Each must be
processed, limiting the ability of understaffed guards to do fullout drug
checks.

One weekend inmate noted that he has seen the calibre of
intermittentsentence prisoner changing. Whereas at one time weekend
sentences were reserved only for those with jobs, now Mimico has many
inmates who are not working and have major psychological and abuse problems.

Judges, he suggested, should better screen inmates sentenced to weekend
jail stints.

Copyright (c) 1997 The London Free Press