FAYETTE COUNTY TASK FORCE CONTINUES ITS WAR ON DRUGS

The Fayette County Task Force is continuing its war on drugs at home
with work from police officers and help from the community.

While the task force itself has been around, on and off, for years,
as an organization operated by the state Attorney General's office,
Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon took over the task
force five years ago to provide a more intense approach to getting
drugs off the streets.

"We're comprised of about 30 police officers employed in regional
police departments," Vernon said.

She added that those officers engage in raids -- more officers are
brought in to assist in the raids -- investigations, surveillance and
leg work, which includes undercover police officers making drug purchases.

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"We've had 12 major drug busts in the last two months," Vernon said.

Sgt. Ronald Haggerty Jr., a police officer for the Connellsville
Police Department and one of the two detective lieutenants for the
task force, said task-force officers are either full-time or
part-time police officers who work for the task force on their own
time, and are county detectives through the district attorney's office.

Haggerty's duties as a detective lieutenant include supervising
officers, keeping statistics, working on the quarterly reports to the
attorney general and supervising case officers and investigations.

"It's very dangerous," Vernon said of the missions for which the
officers volunteer that are normally undercover work. "They do go
above and beyond the call of duty."

Although the police officers who engage in raids and undercover work
are professionals, Vernon said those officers must be properly
trained and equipped, and for that they need money. The task force
runs on a budget of approximately $70,000 a year. The money is used
to pay salaries, office equipment, officer training and cash to
purchase drugs in stings and undercover work.

Haggerty said the Fayette County Housing Authority voted to give the
task force $4,000 to help pay for more patrols and investigations in
the Uniontown housing projects.

Most recently, the Connellsville Wal-Mart donated $1,000 to the task
force through the store's Community Grant Program.

Jane Croftcheck, community involvement coordinator for the
Connellsville Wal-Mart, said the matching grant program provides
money to schools and nonprofit programs in the community like the task force.

Croftcheck said that this past year, the Connellsville store gave
away a total of $25,151 to such organizations, which are in the same
region of the Wal-Mart that raised the money.

"All the money has to go back into the community," Croftcheck said.

She said she has the best job in the world -- giving away money to
programs like the task force, which has shown impressive results from
its efforts.

Haggerty provided information that:

= This year, there have been 42 drug-related arrests, and the task
force seized five vehicles, 20 guns, $74,339 in drug money, 948 grams
of marijuana and 80 plants valued at $10,000, one gram of heroin
valued at $100, 246 grams of crack cocaine valued at $24,600, 1,123
grams of powder cocaine valued at $112,300 and 42.5 grams of
prescription medication.

= In 2006, there were 102 drug-related arrests by the task force,
which seized five vehicles, nine guns, $70,431 in drug money, 246
grams of marijuana valued at $1,800, 18 grams of heroin valued at
$1,800, 428 grams of powder cocaine valued at $42,800, 346 grams of
crack cocaine valued at $34,600, two grams of methamphetamine valued
at $200 and a drug sweep in March of that year, which resulted in the
arrest of 77 drug dealers.

= In 2005, the task force made 83 drug-related arrests, seized eight
vehicles, four guns, $11,397 in drug money, 1,960 grams of marijuana
valued at approximately $5,000, 12 grams of heroin valued at $5,000,
140 grams of powder cocaine valued at $14,000, 78 grams of crack
cocaine valued at $7,700 , 10 grams of other drugs and a drug sweep
in February of that year, which resulted in the arrest of 72 drug dealers.