REGION GETS NEW DRUG TASK FORCE AIMS

Eastern, Southern Kentucky Targeted

HAZARD - The first investigations should begin by mid-December under a new
program aimed at attacking drug trafficking in Eastern and southern
Kentucky, federal and state officials announced yesterday.

Operation UNITE will target street-level drug dealers in 29 counties in
Eastern and southern Kentucky. Abuse of prescription pills and other drugs
has caused a tide of addiction and death, said Republican U.S. Rep. Harold
"Hal" Rogers, whose 5th District includes the area. Drug abuse has driven up
other crimes, stretched police and courts to the limit and overwhelmed
treatment centers.

"There's hardly a family in our region that is not touched in some way by
illegal drugs. By death. By addiction," Rogers said. "It is a cancer eating
away at us."

UNITE stands for Unlawful Narcotics Investigation, Treatment and Education.
As the name indicates, the program has three main components: increased
investigation, treatment for addicts, and expanded education to prevent drug
abuse.

John P. Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy, attended the kick-off for UNITE. He said he was not aware of another
program in the country aimed at bringing together all the pieces to address
drug abuse over such a large area.

"This is a great day for this region," he said.

Rogers said he began working to put the program together -- and get $8
million from Congress to finance it -- after reading a series of articles
published earlier this year in the Herald-Leader about the region's drug
problem.

The newspaper reported in the "Prescription for Pain" series that Eastern
Kentucky leads the nation in the amount of painkillers per capita that reach
drugstores, hospitals and other legal outlets, increasing the potential for
illegal diversion.

The newspaper also found that medical regulators and state law hadn't kept
pace with soaring abuse of prescription drugs; that police agencies are
short-handed; that there is a shortage of treatment; and that there are
significant disparities among state courts in dismissal rates, conviction
rates and sentencing in drug cases.

UNITE will address the shortage of officers by hiring a total of 33
detectives.

They will work in task forces covering the Big Sandy region in far Eastern
Kentucky, the Kentucky River area around Hazard, and the Cumberland Valley
region, stretching from Harlan County to Wayne County.

Rogers announced yesterday that Dan Smoot, who had more than 20 years
experience with the Kentucky State Police before retiring last month, has
been hired to direct the Kentucky River task force.

Smoot said he'll begin interviews today to hire officers for that task
force, and investigations should begin by Dec. 15. The Cumberland and Big
Sandy task forces should be up and running early next year.

Smoot said UNITE will go after street-level dealers because other agencies,
such as the state police and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, typically
target mid-to upper-level dealers. Despite the best efforts of police, they
often couldn't give enough attention to street-level dealers, Smoot said.

And that has the potential to erode public confidence in law enforcement
because those dealers are the ones people see causing problems in their
communities, officials said.

More than half of UNITE's funding -- $5.6 million -- will go toward law
enforcement, said Karen Engle, director of the program. The program is
funded for three years.

Residents can be assured UNITE will respond to their concerns, said Tom
Handy, former commonwealth's attorney in Laurel County and chairman of the
UNITE board.

"We will investigate. We will bring it to a conclusion," Handy told a crowd
of several hundred people at the official kickoff for the program at The
Forum in Hazard.

The UNITE task forces also will investigate doctors who overprescribe pills
as well as Medicaid/Medicare fraud, according to a news release.

U.S. Attorney Gregory F. Van Tatenhove has separately agreed to put six
prosecutors in the offices of commonwealth's attorneys in the region to help
push drug cases through the courts. The six can be designated as special
assistant federal prosecutors to take cases to federal court when warranted,
Van Tatenhove said.

Another key part of UNITE is financing to expand drug courts. Only seven of
the 29 counties now have financing approved for some level of drug court,
which allow abusers to choose strictly supervised rehabilitation over
conventional sentencing.

Officials in the other 22 counties can at least get drug courts under way
with money from UNITE, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Joseph Lambert
said.

Rogers said he was talking with Walters, the national drug czar, about
getting more money into the region for treatment. Getting resources to help
addicts get clean will be "one of the biggest headaches we face," Rogers
said.

UNITE aims to coordinate local citizens' groups -- including faith-based
groups -- to help with drug treatment, prevention and education and programs
such as court-watch initiatives, and will work with educators to expand drug
abuse prevention programs.