DRUG CRACKDOWN FUNDING IN DOUBT

Funding runs out in June for the financial partnership that allowed an
increased crackdown on New Hanover County drug activity, but District
Attorney Ben David says that the program is too important to nix. "We
can't afford not to do this program," David said. "This partnership
makes justice more swift and severe." After receiving a grant from the
Governor's Crime Commission more than two years ago with a 25 percent
match from the New Hanover County Comissioner, New Hanover County
courts have been able to prosecute countless drug dealers under
federal laws. Assistant District Attorney Tim Severo was dubbed a
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, using the federal system to
aggressively pursue drug dealers and criminal organizations, and net
stiffer sentences. The original grant was for $118,627 from fall 2006
through spring 2007, according to Lillian Salcines Bright of the
District Attorney's Office. Because of the program's initial success,
New Hanover County was allowed to apply twice more, receiving $120,058
in fall 2007, and about $98,488 to run the program from now through
June.

But more counties have started applying, David said. That means more
competition for New Hanover County's new application when its current
grant expires at the end of June.

Monday's press conference about the partnership's successes -
recently, an operation dubbed Seven Day Ground netted the arrest of 11
people - was an "open letter" to the governor, the county
commissioners and the community on the program's effectiveness and
necessity, David said. "When you look at our ability to cross
jurisdictional boundaries into other states, we are able to get to
people who are delivering poison into our community from faraway
places," David said. "We are becoming more effective in taking out
top-tier traffickers." That's too important to stop, David said.
Whether the grant is approved or not, he said the District Attorney's
Office plans to continue the program. Without the grant, that would
mean taking a prosecutor from duties elsewhere. Continuing to chase
down top traffickers is key in building a safer, less violent
community, David said.

"Drugs fuel the engine of crime - you can't talk seriously about the
violent crime we have in the area without mentioning drugs, because
it's at the very core of it," David said. "This is one of things I'm
proudest of in my time as district attorney, and I'd like to see it
continue for years to come."