Pubdate: Sat, 27 Oct 2007 Source: Morning Call (Allentown, PA) Copyright: 2007 The Morning Call Inc. Contact: http://www.mcall.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/275 Author: Donald P. Russo Note: Donald P. Russo is an attorney in Bethlehem. GOOD POLICE WORK ASIDE, DRUG CRIME IS SOCIETY'S CHOICE "We will choose to have the criminals in our midst deliver a product that is highly in demand." On Tuesday, federal, state and Schuylkill County law enforcement officials praised the teamwork that caused a routine traffic stop in 2004 to lead to the breakup of a New York City gang's drug operations in Minersville, Shenandoah and Pottsville. The federal district court in Scranton has now closed the case and announced the sentencing of the drug ring's leader, Bremen Miranda. All but one of the men arrested were affiliated with the Latin Kings gang. They have been sentenced to a total of more than 88 years in prison for selling crack, cocaine and heroin. Martin C. Carlson, acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, characterized Miranda -- who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession of crack cocaine -- as the "architect" of the drug operation. It has become obvious that New York City gangs have entered our communities in eastern central Pennsylvania to carry out criminal operations. This is an issue I learned about earlier this year, when I was the host of a local radio program in Bethlehem. Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli was my guest, and he discussed the concern his office has for this insidious, slowly encroaching infestation of our community by these gangs. Fortunately, vigilant law enforcement is making it clear to this scum that they are not welcome here. According to U.S. Attorney Carlson, the gangs "see an opportunity to engage in criminal conduct in the small towns and boroughs and counties in central Pennsylvania. They see it as a place where there may be ready markets for drugs, and a place where they wrongly assume that there isn't much of a law enforcement presence. The results of this case tell folks who assume that this is a good place to deal drugs that they! are wrong." I commend the law enforcement officials who cracked this case and put these animals in jail. Obviously, we are much safer when creeps like this are incarcerated. These are people who are perfectly capable of committing any monstrous misdeed. They are without souls, without conscience, and are as prone to committing acts of violence as a shark is to eating a bloody sirloin steak tossed into the ocean. They are sociopaths, and their mere presence among us should always be viewed as an extreme danger. It was rather odd, however, that Bremen Miranda and his Latin Kings chose Schuylkill County as a place to pursue their sordid business. The vast majority of the good citizens of Schuylkill County are gun owners who are locked and loaded. They are more than capable of defending their homes against the Latin Kings or any other New York City gang members who decide they like the local real estate. We are not, however, dealing with the type of crime that generally would require a homeowner to take out the .12 gauge Remington shotgun to confront a home invader. These invaders are invaders of the street, the schoolyard, the barroom, and the pool hall. The users of their products seek them out, not vice versa. Truth be told, it is truly amazing how much of a demand there is for their products. That is precisely the problem, in my estimation. As much as I applaud the efforts of law enforcement officials to put these people in jail, I am afraid we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. We are doing nothing to curtail the actual demand for drugs. For generations, we have read news accounts of drug rings broken up by the police. Despite all of the good police work, does the problem go away? Of course not. Drug users continue to seek out a supply. The demand for drugs is inelastic, and in fact, may be on the rise. We as a society have made a choice: We will choose to have the criminals in our midst deliver a product that is highly in demand. In this sense, the criminals become distributors of a product society wants. I do not use illegal drugs, but I would be naive not to assume that there are people around me daily who do, indeed, use illegal drugs. Herein lies my concern, and herein lies the source of my frustration. It seems that as a society we are providing these drug dealers with a very nice life-style. They live well, and they have every material thing money can buy. And yet, they are Frankenstein monsters of our own creation. One can only wonder what would happen if we were to legalize, regulate and tax drugs, thereby putting these criminals out of business. While no politician in his right mind would ever be so foolish as to advocate the legalization of drugs, it is still interesting, nonetheless, to savor the thought of making the drug dealers irrelevant, once and for all. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart