DRUG SWEEP SNARES 29

Arrests Include Schuyler Falls Town Councilor

PLATTSBURGH -- In a major sweep, area law-enforcement officials rounded up
29 alleged drug dealers Tuesday, including a Town of Schuyler Falls councilor.

The operation put a serious dent in the area's cocaine business, police say.

"We've dealt a devastating blow to drug trafficking in our area," City
Police Chief Walter Hallett said.

Two-year Probe

Tuesday's arrests culminated a two-year investigation involving numerous
police agencies forming the Adirondack Drug Task Force.

"A lot of officers spent many days and sleepless nights investigating, and
they were relentless in their pursuit," Hallett said.

Most of those arrested were charged with felony crimes for dealing drugs.
The drug of choice for the alleged dealers was cocaine, but marijuana, LSD
and ecstasy were also sold.

Most of the drugs came from the Albany area and were being sold to people
in Plattsburgh and in parts of Essex County.

Around 6 a.m., officers began rounding up suspects in both counties and
bringing them to the Plattsburgh Police Station for processing.

Clinton County District Attorney Richard Cantwell said the investigation
was painstakingly thorough to protect the identity of informants and
undercover officers.

Sealed indictments from a grand jury were handed down Monday.

"The officers who risked their lives should really be commended," Cantwell
said. "It doesn't matter what the district attorney says; it's up to these
guys to get the job done, and they did it."

Essex County District Attorney Ronald Briggs said it would be impossible to
penetrate the area's drug trade without a task force.

"The only way you are going to interdict the cancerous growth of drugs is
through a team effort."

Public Official Arrested

Among those arrested was Schuyler Falls Town Councilor James Sullivan.

Sullivan, 45, is the uncle of Nicholas Pablo, the 12-year-old who was hit
by a car and killed on Kent Falls Road in Morrisonville last August.

Pablo was walking with Sullivan's son, Joshua Sullivan, at the time he was
killed.

The driver, Debra Aumell, and her friend Cory Stone, who was in a car
behind Aumell, both drove off, ignoring Joshua Sullivan's pleas for help.

The story drew widespread attention earlier this year when Aumell and Stone
were given what was perceived by many as sentences that were too light.

Police seized some drug paraphernalia, a small amount of cocaine and some
cash from a desk drawer at Viking Ski Shop in Plattsburgh, where James
Sullivan has been a longtime employee.

Police arrested Sullivan at his Kent Falls Road home Tuesday morning after
his son had left for school.

Felons Can't Serve

Sullivan's arrest marks the second time in the past two years that a
Schuyler Falls Town Council member was charged with a felony.

Reginald Facteau was convicted of two counts of perjury in September 2000
and sentenced in November of that year to 40 days in County Jail and fined
$5,000 for each count.

If convicted, Sullivan would have to resign from his seat, under state law.

Schuyler Falls Supervisor Harold Ormsby said the Town Council was just
beginning to put the Facteau situation behind them.

"Things were just starting to go more smoothly, and Jim was a good board
member," Ormsby said.

"This is too bad."

Councilor Leonard "Cheese" Rock was upset to the point of sarcasm over
Sullivan's arrest and the impact it will have on the town's image.

"Maybe we should put some money in the town budget for bail," he said.

Served Time Before

Also arrested Tuesday was Phillip T. St. Louis, who was sent to prison on
drug charges from a major drug sweep in 1989.

St. Louis had been sentenced in 1990 to five years to life for possession
and sale of cocaine -- the same charges he faces this time.

"Obviously, the drug trade must be lucrative if people keep doing it,"
Chief Hallett said.

Correction Officer

Correction Officer Wayne N. Dashnaw, 53, of Keeseville was charged with
selling marijuana.

Dashnaw has been an officer at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora
since March of 1978.

Police entered the prison Tuesday morning to arrest Dashnaw, who was
working at his $50,312-a-year job at the time.

Former Stafford Aide

Joseph R. Palmer, 50, a former aide to State Sen. Ronald B. Stafford and an
employee of the Department of Corrections, was also charged.

Palmer is one of seven who are accused of selling drugs on school grounds.

The others are St. Louis, Christopher W. Gonzalez, Carlton Brown, Bijan
Nahavandi, Matawa Devitt and Taylor J. Kilfoyle.

Cantwell explained that anyone selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school
building can be charged with a separate count.

All but four of the 29 people arrested Tuesday remained in either the
Clinton or Essex County jails awaiting further court action or to be bailed
out.