36 PEOPLE ARE TO BE CHARGED IN GUNS AND DRUG TRAFFIC IN BROOKLYN

In aggressive undercover investigation into three gangs that sold guns and
drugs in a Brooklyn housing project helped reduce the number of shootings
there and cut overall crime by as much as 35 percent, the authorities said
yesterday.

Police detectives and agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms have prepared charges against 36 people after the six-month
investigation at the Kingsborough housing development in
Bedford-Stuyvesant, including eight juveniles, who officials said served as
couriers for guns and drugs.

An undercover detective was able to win the confidence of the gangs and
make all the undercover purchases, buying a total of 59 illegal guns, said
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly. The detective was so effective, Mr.
Kelly said, that all three gangs tried to recruit him to become their own
gun runner.

A.T.F. agents and detectives from the recently expanded Firearms
Investigation Unit of the Police Department began making arrests late
Monday and have taken into custody 14 of the 36 people wanted in the case,
which officials named Operation Young Guns.

Mr. Kelly, who announced the arrests at a news conference with A.T.F.
agents and state and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn who will handle the
cases, said it is significant because most will be tried in federal court,
where those convicted will face longer prison terms.

William G. McMahon, who heads the A.T.F.'s New York office, said agents
would seek the source of the gangs' guns. "Every firearm you see in front
of you has a story to tell," he said, referring to the pistols, shotguns
and assault rifles displayed at the conference. "Our goal is to determine
how these weapons got to New York and then interdict the flow of illegal
firearms before they get to our streets."

The investigation began after a suspect questioned after a drug arrest
provided information that led to the gun sellers, Mr. Kelly said.

Roslynn R. Mauskopf, the United States attorney for Brooklyn, said her
office's role in the case was part of a nationwide Justice Department
program called Operation Safe Neighborhoods, which puts federal resources
into neighborhoods racked by organized crime and drugs.

The six-month investigation has already been a success, Mr. Kelly said,
noting that in the nine months leading up to it, there were 11 shootings in
the development, which left one person dead and 12 seriously injured. Since
the investigation began, he said, crime has dropped by 35 percent and there
have been no shootings.

Eight juveniles being sought in the case will be charged in state court
where, unlike adults, they would likely receive stiffer penalties than in
federal court if convicted, said Samantha Schreiber, one of the assistant
United States attorneys prosecuting the cases.

In some cases, the youths played an integral role, in one instance
negotiating a price with the undercover detective until, unable to get the
desired price for a .380-caliber pistol, the youth deferred to an older
man, another prosecutor, Steven Weiser, said. The older man eventually
bargained the detective up, saying that way he could pay "his little man,"
for his role, Mr. Weiser said.