GOOD POLICE WORK ASIDE, DRUG CRIME IS SOCIETY'S CHOICE

"We will choose to have the criminals in our midst deliver a product
that is highly in demand."

On Tuesday, federal, state and Schuylkill County law enforcement
officials praised the teamwork that caused a routine traffic stop in
2004 to lead to the breakup of a New York City gang's drug
operations in Minersville, Shenandoah and Pottsville. The
federal district court in Scranton has now closed the case
and announced the sentencing of the drug ring's leader, Bremen
Miranda. All but one of the men arrested were affiliated with the
Latin Kings gang. They have been sentenced to a total of more than
88 years in prison for selling crack, cocaine and heroin. Martin
C. Carlson, acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of
Pennsylvania, characterized Miranda -- who pleaded guilty to
conspiracy to distribute and possession of crack cocaine -- as the
"architect" of the drug operation.

It has become obvious that New York City gangs have entered our
communities in eastern central Pennsylvania to carry out criminal
operations. This is an issue I learned about earlier this year, when
I was the host of a local radio program in Bethlehem. Northampton
County District Attorney John Morganelli was my guest, and he
discussed the concern his office has for this insidious, slowly
encroaching infestation of our community by these gangs.
Fortunately, vigilant law enforcement is making it clear to this
scum that they are not welcome here. According to U.S.
Attorney Carlson, the gangs "see an opportunity to engage
in criminal conduct in the small towns and boroughs and counties in
central Pennsylvania. They see it as a place where there may be ready
markets for drugs, and a place where they wrongly assume that there
isn't much of a law enforcement presence. The results of this
case tell folks who assume that this is a good place to deal drugs
that they! are wrong."

I commend the law enforcement officials who cracked this case and
put these animals in jail. Obviously, we are much safer when creeps
like this are incarcerated. These are people who are perfectly
capable of committing any monstrous misdeed. They are without souls,
without conscience, and are as prone to committing acts of violence
as a shark is to eating a bloody sirloin steak tossed into the
ocean. They are sociopaths, and their mere presence among us
should always be viewed as an extreme danger.

It was rather odd, however, that Bremen Miranda and his Latin Kings
chose Schuylkill County as a place to pursue their sordid business.
The vast majority of the good citizens of Schuylkill County are gun
owners who are locked and loaded. They are more than capable of
defending their homes against the Latin Kings or any other New York
City gang members who decide they like the local real estate.

We are not, however, dealing with the type of crime that generally
would require a homeowner to take out the .12 gauge Remington
shotgun to confront a home invader. These invaders are invaders of
the street, the schoolyard, the barroom, and the pool hall. The
users of their products seek them out, not vice versa. Truth be
told, it is truly amazing how much of a demand there is for their
products. That is precisely the problem, in my estimation.

As much as I applaud the efforts of law enforcement officials to put
these people in jail, I am afraid we are only seeing the tip of the
iceberg. We are doing nothing to curtail the actual demand for
drugs. For generations, we have read news accounts of drug
rings broken up by the police. Despite all of the good police work,
does the problem go away? Of course not. Drug users continue to seek
out a supply. The demand for drugs is inelastic, and in fact, may be
on the rise. We as a society have made a choice: We will choose to
have the criminals in our midst deliver a product that is highly in demand.

In this sense, the criminals become distributors of a product
society wants. I do not use illegal drugs, but I would be naive not
to assume that there are people around me daily who do, indeed, use
illegal drugs. Herein lies my concern, and herein lies the source
of my frustration.

It seems that as a society we are providing these drug dealers with
a very nice life-style. They live well, and they have every material
thing money can buy. And yet, they are Frankenstein monsters of our
own creation.

One can only wonder what would happen if we were to legalize,
regulate and tax drugs, thereby putting these criminals out of
business. While no politician in his right mind would ever be so
foolish as to advocate the legalization of drugs, it is still
interesting, nonetheless, to savor the thought of making the drug
dealers irrelevant, once and for all.