STATE AID TO BOOST ANTIDRUG PARTNERSHIP

For about three years, narcotics detectives from Revere, Winthrop, and the
State Police have been sharing resources in undercover operations in an
informal arrangement to target highly addictive drugs such as heroin and
OxyContin.

This year, to help fight the regional drug problem, local state legislators
included an allocation of $150,000 in the state budget to officially fund
the communities' partnership as part of a one-year pilot program.

Lieutenant Brian Perrin of the Winthrop Police Department, assisted by
Revere and State Police, put together a package of investigation statistics
about eight months ago for Senate President Robert E. Travaglini and state
Representative Robert A. DeLeo. Both DeLeo and Travaglini represent
Winthrop and Revere.

"We're putting the time in, but now [with the state funds] we're going to
have additional personnel," said Perrin, who is also a Winthrop selectman.
"We're using this money to attack the narcotics trade, specifically OxyContin."

Perrin said he hopes to start the program before summer's end.

But the funding allocation will not be a done deal until Governor Mitt
Romney signs the state budget, said Chief Terence Reardon of Revere.

"It's a matter of the budgetary process," Reardon said. "It's not a lot of
money for three departments, but you'd be surprised how much mileage we can
get out of it."

The money, Reardon said, would not only allow Winthrop and Revere to
continue to share investigators, but also allow the communities to pick
from the vast pool of state troopers who can go undercover. Reardon said
that because of the small size of both communities, and the fact that many
of the police officers are residents, drug dealers are able to recognize
them on the street.

"State Police can bring their people from across the Commonwealth," Reardon
said. "But all things cost money."

Reardon and Chief David Goldstein of Winthrop see the potential allocation
as seed money that would ultimately kick-start an investigative program in
both communities. More undercover personnel in both communities, he said,
would allow investigators to make larger seizures of cash and other
valuables that would be put back into the program.

Goldstein said the money would also help fund the purchase of drugs in
sting operations, as well as the purchase of equipment.

"We were doing this with our money, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul in a
way to make streets safer for everybody," Goldstein said. "Because of the
complexities of a narcotics investigation, it takes a lot of time, energy,
and money. . . . This is a major league problem. It's not going to go away
tomorrow or next year, but in that year's time, we can also demonstrate the
extent of the problem."

Like in many communities across the state and the Northeast, Goldstein said
Winthrop's drug problem is an epidemic. Perrin said that in the span of a
month, the Winthrop Police Department can receive up to 180 tips on drug
activity in the area.

"We get tips every single day of people dealing with drugs, but there are
only so many resources," Perrin said. "You have to nearly prioritize which
cases we're going to do first and it becomes a backlog."