EX-STAFFORD AIDE ONE OF 28 ARRESTED

PLATTSBURGH (AP) -- A town councilman, a prison guard and a former aide to
a state senator were among 28 northern New York residents arrested Tuesday
on drug trafficking charges.

The arrests ended a two year investigation by the Adirondack Drug Task
Force. Police began arresting suspects in the sweep about 6 a.m., reported
the Plattsburgh Press-Republican.

James Sullivan, 45, a councilman in the Clinton County town of Schuyler
Falls, was arrested at his Morrisonville home on charges that included
conspiracy and criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Police arrested Wayne Dashnaw, 53, at Clinton Correctional Facility in
Dannemora, where he has worked since 1978. Dashnaw, of Keeseville, is
accused of selling marijuana.

Plattsburgh resident Joseph Palmer, 50, a former aide to longtime
Republican state Sen. Ronald Stafford and current employee of the state
Department of Corrections, is accused of selling drugs on school grounds.

Police charged 25 others with dealing drugs -- mainly cocaine, but also
marijuana, LSD and Ecstasy.