DELUCA: DRUG WAR A SUCCESS STORY

Monessen Mayor John T. DeLuca believes the city is having a banner year in
policing drug activity.

DeLuca said city police have generated a 12 percent increase in
drug-related arrests this year.

His assessment came in the wake of last week's drug sweep, which saw 43
people arrested on an assortment of drug-related charges. It was an added
bonus to an already productive year, the mayor said.

"We already made six or eight more arrests (by) the beginning of October
than we did all last year," DeLuca said. "These are activities that have
not been involved with the attorney general's investigation."

"We owe a lot to the Monessen Police Department for a renewed effort,"
DeLuca said. "I'm very proud of our department, which, with its limited
resources, has done things this year that have increased arrests."

DeLuca praised a constant effort by city police to remove the "drug town"
label from Monessen.

"I don't think Monessen is any more of a hub than any other place," DeLuca
said. "Drugs are prevalent everywhere. This town is nowhere near what
people who don't live here think it is."

DeLuca said the drug problem has been at the top of his hit list since he
took office this year.

"For some reason, people who don't know me were saying that I was going to
be soft on drugs," he said. "I'm a big Teddy Roosevelt fan. Speak softly
and carry a big stick."

DeLuca said morale is high in the city, adding that police also have been
successful in hindering other criminal activities.

"There has been a great deal of renewed pride in our department," he said.
"We're up in traffic arrests. We're up in drug arrests ... non-traffic
arrests, which are things like disorderly conduct, harassment and things
like that."

DeLuca said the city has gained powerful allies among local and state law
enforcement agencies.

The state Attorney General's office played a large role in last week's
sweep, which allegedly was related to an active drug ring that dealt in a
variety of illegal narcotics.

"Had they not been receptive ... we would have been fighting drugs one
little street dealer at a time," he said.

The mayor said he realizes the city still faces an uphill battle, and
claims he is prepared to take on the task - step-by-step.

"It's almost overwhelming to think that you can overcome or beat the drug
problem," DeLuca said. "It is a never-ending battle.

"The best that you can do is to try to stay on top of it as much as you can
and to make people say it's really not worth it to go anywhere in the Mon
Valley to do this.

"We can make people say, 'It's too damn hot to sell drugs in Monessen.'"