DRUG CONNECTIONS VIA 'DOPE PHONES'

Concerns Raised Over Pay Units Used By Dealers

Dozens of pay phones in the Maverick Square area have Ernie Torgersen
worried that the neighborhood's telecommunications bonanza is serving as a
magnet for illegal drug deals.

"I call them the dope phones," said Torgersen, executive director of the
East Boston Main Streets program, whose office is around the corner from
Maverick Square. The square alone has nine pay phones on the sidewalks and
another in the subway station.

Boston Police say such phones have long played a role in street sales of
illegal drugs. While drug dealers have mostly gone high tech since the
advent of cellphones and pagers, "buyers may use a [pay] phone when they
get into the vicinity" where they plan to meet a drug dealer, according to
Lieutenant Detective Stephen Meade, commander of the Boston Police Drug
Control Unit. "If they are down-and-out, they may not have a cellphone."

Meade said many drug deals take place in Maverick Square, as in other
high-traffic areas around the city, and that police know from surveillance
that the availability of pay phones plays a role.

Drug busts are up this year. Boston police have made 4,582 drug-related
arrests during the first 11 months of 2004, hundreds more than in 2003,
when there were 4,132 arrests, and in 2002, which saw 4,163 arrests,
according to Boston police.

"It's not to be blamed on the phone," said Meade. "The phone is the
smallest factor of the equation."

Still, Torgersen, who has counted 50 pay phones along the Meridian Street
stretch between Maverick Square and the Chelsea River, would like to see
many removed. "If they'd knock it down to 15 to 20 [phones], that would be
better."

He has brought the issue to city officials, who have begun talking with pay
phone companies to come up with a solution.

One option under discussion is turning off the phones after 7 p.m. so that
they could be used only to make emergency calls to police or an operator at
night. But a variety of options are under discussion, according to Seth
Gitell, spokesman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

"The city is aware of an array of potential problems surrounding pay phones
and is working with the pay phone companies about how best to address these
concerns with a solution that works for everyone," Gitell said.

Catherine Lewis, a spokeswoman for the Verizon phone company, which owns
several of the pay phones in question, said she was not aware of talks
between city officials and Verizon.

"But we have and continue to work with law enforcement if there is a
problem with a phone. We will remove phones if it's in the best interest of
the community," Lewis said.

She said Verizon often installs pay phones in neighborhoods like East
Boston, with large immigrant communities, because immigrants tend to be
heavy pay phone users both for local calls and to stay in touch with
friends and family in their home countries.

Roberto Escobar, El Salvador's consul general in Boston, said removing pay
phones from the area could inconvenience thousands of area immigrants who
use the phones for legitimate calls.

"Not everyone has a cellphone," said Escobar. "Many people use those phones."