SON'S DEATH BY OVERDOSE INSPIRES MAN TO FIGHT DRUG DEALERS

TIOGA CENTER, N.Y. -- The first time Steven Steiner tried to fight back
against drug dealers poisoning his son and millions of other American
teens, he couldn't find the words or the passion.

He was just another parent who felt powerless -- until his 19-year-old son
died of a drug overdose in January 2001.

Since then, the 41-year-old electrician has founded Dads and Mad Moms
Against Drug Dealers, or DAMMADD.

"Since Stevie's death, this is how I have a chance to work closer with him,
to work together,'' Steiner said. "Believe me, my candle isn't going out
any time soon.''

DAMMADD accepts tips about drug dealers over the Internet and offers
rewards ranging from $100 to $1,500 for information leading to a
conviction. Thirty-eight law enforcement agencies in 14 states -- including
Ohio -- have started formal partnerships with the organization.

Tips led to 21 arrests in New York and Maine, 10 of them resulting in
convictions.

Broome County (N.Y.) Sheriff David Harder is impressed by the quality and
quantity of tips DAMMADD has received.

"It sort of reminds me of the America's Most Wanted show on television,''
he said. "It gives citizens a way to fight back.''

As Steiner recalled the final, tortured years of his son's brief life, a
3-foot-tall photograph of Stevie stood against a wall in his living room
and nearby, an urn containing his ashes.

Steiner said the idea for DAMMADD first took seed while Stevie was
attending junior high school in Middletown, N.J. He struggled with
academics but thrived when he could work with his hands.

At 13, he started learning his father's trade. He also was learning about
marijuana and alcohol.

Steiner approached school administrators and local businesses about setting
up a reward fund and putting a bounty on drug dealers. Administrators balked.

"I didn't have the message back then. I really didn't,'' he said.

All the while, Stevie was getting in deeper. In 1996, he stole his father's
credit card and ran away. Steiner had him arrested, pressed charges and
placed him in a juvenile hall for three months.

After jail, the Steiners moved to upstate New York for a fresh start, and
it appeared 16-year-old Stevie had straightened out his life. But by 18, it
was clear Stevie was again involved with drugs. "He wasn't an addict. He
never bought drugs. He would only smoke and drink on weekends with his
friends and at parties,'' Steiner said.

He believes his son was acting on a dare Jan. 29, 2001, while at a Super
Bowl party in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Police said Stevie snorted a fatal
mix of Ecstasy and OxyContin, a powerful prescription painkiller.

His message conveys an honesty cloaked in pain.

"Drug dealers are terrorists,'' he said. "Drug dealers are child molesters.
Not sexual, but the mental abuse. They are stealing their youth, their
integrity.''

Within two weeks of becoming a DAMMADD partner in mid-March, the police
department in Brewer, Maine, received 16 tips, including one that helped
lead to the arrest of five people and the seizure of crack cocaine and heroin.

"We had almost immediate success, so we think this is a great intelligence
tool,'' Sgt. Perry Antone said.

"People are sometimes hesitant to get involved. In small towns, everyone
knows everyone, and there is a fear that things will get tracked back if
someone steps up with information,'' Antone said. "With DAMMADD's system, I
think people feel pretty insulated.''

From the basement of his home 85 miles south of Syracuse near the
Pennsylvania state line, Steiner monitors the computer tip line. His wife,
Julie, runs the family business from a computer on the other side of the room.

Steiner passes the credible tips on to law enforcement agencies.

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, gave Steiner $100,000 in grants to
develop DAMMADD after Steiner described the project to its representatives.

In January, the Steiners quietly observed the first anniversary of Stevie's
death by instituting the Law Enforcement User Interface system, which
automatically routes tips by ZIP code.

"I have a focus. I have a vision,'' he said. "It is getting all the
parents, all the families, all the communities and everyone together. . . .
We're not going to just sit here and let our kids die one by one. We're
going to do something to fight back.''