DC POLICE EXECUTES DRUG BUST IN DORM

Six AU students were arrested late Thursday night during a drug bust
executed by the Metropolitan Police Department with the help of AU Public
Safety. The raid began when seven search warrants were served at seven
different dorm rooms on the fifth floors of Letts, Anderson, McDowell and
Leonard Halls, though the probe ultimately centered on four rooms,
according to police and university statements. The suspected drug ring is
thought to be involved in supplying narcotics to students at other area
universities, D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said Friday.

The arrested, all students at AU, were the subjects of a two-month long
surveillance operation conducted by MPD. All six students were arraigned on
Friday in D.C. Circuit Court and all pled innocent to the misdemeanor
charges. Benjamin Bregman, 19, of Pennsylvania, was arrested for possession
of drug paraphernalia. Aleksandar Radosauljevic, 19, of Pequannock, N.J.,
and Mati S. Kerpen, 20, of Nassau County, N.Y., were charged with violating
the Uniformed Controlled Substance Act by possessing marijuana. Benjamin
Cole, 21, whose hometown is unknown, and John M. Cleary, 19, of Ohio, were
both charged with possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute. Ben
Gelt, 20, of Denver, was initially charged by MPD with distribution of
opium, a felony in the District, but was charged only with a marijuana
offense at the Friday arraignment. U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman
Channing Phillips noted, however, that prosecutors could charge Gelt with
additional offenses in the coming days.

All of the accused declined to comment following Friday's arraignment.
Because each of the six were arraigned separately and were represented by
different attorneys they will be required to reappear before the court on
different dates.

At least four of the six young men arrested are said to be members or
pledges of two AU fraternities: Delta Chi and Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike).
Representatives from both fraternities refused to comment.

All six students have been charged with misdemeanor offenses only and were
released on their own recognizance following their arraignments, Phillips
said. Four of the six students have been banned from campus, according to a
statement that the university released Friday. The statement did not
indicate which four were banned.

Several students on the north side of campus indicated over the weekend
that MPD officers said Thursday that they would return to campus with more
arrest and search warrants and that some students had fled. The allegations
could not be confirmed by press time.

If convicted, the six students face legal sanctions ranging from probation
and a fine to one year in jail for a first offense, in addition to any
action that the university might take.

"There will be on-campus action taken as well as off campus. This is not a
school that should tolerate drug activity," said Dean of Students Faith
Leonard. Though she refused to comment on whether AU had notified any of
the students' parents, Leonard said that, "There is no university policy of
parental notification."

Amy Argetsinger, a reporter with the Washington Post, said Friday that
Gelt's parents -- who are prominent in Colorado politics -- had not heard
of their son's arrest until the Post contacted them.

The raids, which began at approximately 10 p.m. Thursday night, resulted in
the seizure of an unspecified quantity of drugs, paraphernalia, one
automobile, and over $15,000 in cash. One student who requested anonymity
said that one of the arrested had over 15 pounds of marijuana in his
possession at the time of the search, though police sources would not
confirm the allegation. MPD and university sources would confirm, however,
that the searches netted more evidence and contraband than they had
expected, including alcohol, marijuana, ecstasy, opium, and other narcotics.

The searches may not yet be over, police and school officials said.

"The investigation is ongoing. More arrests are expected," said Lt. Josiah
Eaves, of the MPD's Second District.

The drug probe was started in December and was prompted by a tip to police
by at least one undisclosed informant, police sources said. Thursday's
operation had been in the works for several weeks and was the first major
result of an extensive undercover investigation by MPD, according to the
same sources.

University and Public Safety officials said that they had been aware of the
police investigation for some time and that they had actually requested the
police inquiry, but cited confidentiality and legal concerns in refusing to
comment on much of the investigation and its results thus far.

"I'd like to emphasize how extremely cooperative and supportive AU
officials have been, are, and continue to be," Sgt. Joe Gentile, MPD
spokesman, said.

In an e-mail announcement to students, staff and faculty, the school said
on Friday that, "American University has a zero tolerance policy concerning
drugs and alcohol on campus. The health and safety of the entire campus
community is important to us, and University officials will continue to
enforce our policy and cooperate with police officials on these matters."

Still, many administrators and police officials seemed either unwilling or
unable to comment on the drug probe.

"I don't really know how long the investigation will last. All I know is
that there has been an investigation under way," said AU President Benjamin
Ladner.

While AU authorities have declined to provide details of the extent to
which AU students have been under police surveillance during the last two
months, some students have suggested anonymously that undercover MPD
attempted to purchase drugs from some of the arrested students in the days
prior to Thursday's bust. Students in the employ of Residential Life and
Housing Services have also alleged that the probe began when a Resident
Assistant gained access to a dorm room on the fifth floor of McDowell Hall
over winter break and noticed narcotics in plain view. It has also been
suggested that police utilized drug-sniffing dogs and electronic
surveillance prior to the raid, but such reports remain as yet unconfirmed.

"It looked like the movies when the police trashed all their rooms," Tina
Flores, a junior and friend to one of the arrested students, said in
referring to knifed mattresses and overturned bookcases that MPD left in
their wake.

University officials have remained tight-lipped on the matter.

"I would anticipate that there has been reconnaissance going on, but we
won't know the full scope of it until MPD finishes its work," Leonard said.

Students who witnessed the operation claim to have seen both plain-clothed
and uniformed officers, some wearing ski masks and jackets bearing the
acronym "DEA," short for the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. No DEA
officers were present at the raid, and any officers who wore DEA
windbreakers were actually MPD officers who are members of a joint-MPD-DEA
task force and simply chose to wear their DEA insignia, said Laura
DiCesare, a DEA spokesman and 1989 AU alum.

Everyone who took part in Thursday's operation was an MPD officer and
member of the MPD's Second District Focus Mission Unit, a tactical-vice
group that was formed in order to address specific issues of crime in this
section of Northwest D.C., Officer Kenneth Bryson, an MPD spokesman, said.

Student opinion following Thursday's drug bust has been largely negative.
While some students interviewed were grateful that AU and the police are
pursuing students suspected of selling drugs on campus, many have suggested
that they are uncomfortable with an aggressive police presence inside the
dormitories. Other students have expressed disappointment at the
university's endorsement of the raid and of the school's vagueness in
communicating with students after the surprise police action.

In a statement released following the operation, AU said, "We have been
supporting [the Metropolitan Police Department] in their work to make the
campus a safer place for everyone. We will continue to do so over the next
days ahead."

"It's ridiculous, to make an example of one person when others got into
trouble," Kathleen Doyle, a freshman and a friend of one of the arrested, said.

Still, many students who claimed Thursday and Friday to know some of
arrested said that they were not surprised by the police action and that
the students' use and trafficking of drugs was common knowledge.

"It's not over, they didn't get everybody. [Drug dealers] are like weeds,
you pull out two and five more pop up," Flores said.