Cuban fighter planes buzz Coast G
• NASSAU, Bahamas (UPI) Two
Cuban MiG-21 fighter planes yesterday
buzzed a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter
searching Bahamian waters for four
tterewmen missing from a Bahamian
gunboat sunk by Cuban fighter planes.
....The Coast Guard, in a statement
released in Miami, Fla., said the in
cjdent occurred near the Bahamian
coral island of Santo Domingo Cay,.
about 35 mites outh of where the_ gun
loat Flamingo was sunk Saturday in a
rocket attack.
In yesterday's incident, the Coast
Guard said, the MiG fighters buzzed to
within 50 feet of the helicopter in a case
15°
the
daily
Senate OKs budget;
,deficit still possibility
From our wire services
WASHINGTON The Senate ap
proved a $613.1 billion balanced 1981
budget last night, but last-minute
spending hikes raised new doubts about
whether Congress will actually
° eliminate the federal deficit for the first
time in 12 years.
. The vote on final passage was 68-28.
- Before approving the defense-oriented
budget package, the Senate - voted to
restore money for Saturday mail
delivery, boost veterans spending, keep
'federal law assistance grants alive and
make repeal of President Carter's oil
import fee easier.
While the string of spending votes
technically left the 1981 budget in
balance, the last-minute changes would
require dipping into the $lO billion ex-
Oected to be raised by Carter's import
fee.
In proposing to balance the 1981
budget, Carter and congressional
leaders vowed not to use the import fee
which, beginning Thursday, will add
about 10 cents 'a gallon to the price - of
gasoline.
4owever, in a dramatic turnabout
from its earlier support 'of its Budget
Committee's belt-tightening plan, the
Senate rejected several. of the more
unpopular proposed spending cuts.
By a voice vote, the Senate agreed to
rgstore $3OO million for Saturday mail
diliveries, paying for that increase by
cutting federal administrative costs an
additional 1 percent across-the-board,
except for defense.
_ The 1 percent cut is on top of a 5 per
cent reduction in the bureaucracy
Drug battle is waged in Happy Valley
Elitor's Note: This is the first in a three
part series on drug traffic in State
College. Tomorrow's story will deal with
ihe enforcement of drug laws in the
area.
By TOM BOYER
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
40State College is a pleasant place. The
nickname "Happy Valley" implies in
nocence and lack of conflict. But behind
the colorful streets, boisterous bars and
busy offices, a quiet, dirty war is going
on.
On one side of the battle are certain
students, town residents and business
pdtple. On the other side are the police
and federal and state drug laws.
Because of its large student
population, State College comprises one
of the largest markets for illegal drugs
in the state.
"We're going to have a greater drug
problem than another community our
size because of the disproportionate
amount of young people," said Walter F.
Williams, regional director of the
Pennsylvania Bureau of Drug En
forcement's State College office.
-Also, because State College is situated
on' near important drug transport
routes, large quantities of drugs pass
through on their way to large cities.
"We're at a kind of crossroads," said
Sam Hargrave,director of On Drugs Inc.
He said most of the drug traffic flows
Westward from eastern ports such as
Boston and New York, to Ohio and
Illinois. Drugs also also travel nor
thward from Harrisburg and Baltimore
toward Buffalo and Syracuse, he said.
. • Compilation of accurate statistics on
drug trafficking is impossible. Police
Arrest records account only for drug law
violators who get caught, and neither
police nor the traffickers themselves
would speculate on the total quantity of
drugs coming into State College.
However, all sources questioned
agreed about the size of the local drug
operation.
*l'd say there's a lot of marijuana
traffic in this town. A tremendous
amount," Hargrave said.
David E. Stormer, director of
University Safety, said of marijuana:
VI 202' PATTEE
of "extremely dangerous harassment."
The U.S. State Department officially
protested the incident in a phone call to
the Cuban Interest Section in
Washington.
The Coast Guard statement said one of
the Russian-built jets flew 50 feet under
the helicopter and just 300 feet above the
ocean, "cutting in its after-burner as it
passed, before climbing to a high
altitude and circling."
After the Cuban jet made its last pass,
the Guard said its helicopter "proceeded
to the USS Charles F. Adams, a U.S.
Navy guided missile destroyer, and
hovered nearby until the Adams no
already approved by the Budget Com
mittee, and some observers believe the
new cut is unrealistic.
The Saturday mail amendment by
Sens. John Glenn, D-Ohio, and David
Pryor, D-Ark., puts the Senate in
disagreement with the House, which
favors elimination of Saturday mail.
Earlier, on a 87-6 vote, the Senate
raised spending on veterans affairs by
$3OO million to $21.3 billion and agreed to
pay for the hike by reducing a promised
tax cut that was to be paid for by the $lO
billion oil import fee.
Ironically, the decision to use the
import fee money followed a 75-19 Senate
vote expressing strong displeasure with
the fee and making It easier for Congress
to repeal Carter's authority to impose it.
The two votes raise fresh doubts about
whether the budget can be balanced in
the face of a worsening recession and
growing congressional sentiment
against the import fee.
In another budget change, the Senate
voted- 68-25 -to keep-alive the Law -En
forcement Assistance Administration
with $2O million diverted from foreign
aid. The House voted to end LEAA,
which provides grants to local police
departments.
Sen. Howell Heflin, D-Ala., proposing
the LEAA amendment, said Carter and
congressional budget committees had
"marked LEAA for dead."
He said LEAA, which originally was
plagued with problems and abuses, had
become an effective program that
played an important role in police
training. "We need assistance to
policemen in the small towns."
"Hell, that's got to come in here in
truckloads."
One drug dealer estimated, that as
many as 50,000 hits of LSD pass through
State College every week.
To fund drug operations on this scale
requires substantial capital,And many
people, from the truck driver to the
dorm floor dealer, are employed running
the elaborate, disjointed distribution
system that provides State College with
its "stash." •
Hargrave said that "street drugs,"
which he classified as any type of drug
sold outside of medical and phar
maceutical channels, originate from
several sources:
• Prescription drugs diverted from
legitimate distribution channels by
doctors, pharmacists and transporters.
Hargrave said tighter federal oversight
of the pharmaceutical industry, with the
aid of computer inventories, have all but
eliminated this source.
• Underground laboratories, which
produce drugs from raw chemicals. Pills
sold on the street are produced this way,
4 COPIES
1111
Tuesday, May 13,1880
Vol. 80, No. 172 10 pages
_ . _
longer had the MiG aircraft on radar.
"The Coast Guard helicopter then
proceeded to Mathew Town, Great
Inaugua, Bahamas, before returning to
its home station at Borinquen, Puerto
Rico."
In Nassau, a Cuban diploma tic
delegation met for three hours with
Bahamian officials in an effort to reach
a "friendly and honorable settlement" to
the dispute between the two nations.
Afterwards, a member of the Cuban
delegation admitted Saturday's attack
"was a mistake" and then ducked into
his car. He could not be identified.
The Flamingo was sunk after its crew
• ' ' '; 7 ;
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040.
Balancing act
Even a single scoop ice cream cone can be a heck of a lot to handle, expecially for a little person. But this girl manages to balance her cone and purse while run
ning a sample test on her tongue as she emerges from the University Creamery.
and their contents are almost always
misrepresented, Hargrave said.
• Smuggling operations, which bring
in illegal drugs from other parts of the
country and outside the United States.
Marijuana, hashish and cocaine come
from this source, Hargrave said.
• Nonintended substances, such as
model glue and butyl nitrite, and natural
substances, such as mushrooms and
nutmeg, which can be bought or grown
legally.
Illegal drugs travel through a
hierarchy that allows dealers to be
secure in their common desire to make
money, dealers say, with only a little bit
of trust required.
"The drug market is a combination of
free enterprise and a lot of collusion," a
dealer who will be called "Harry" said.
He added that dealers informally agree
among themselves to set prices.
Sources disagree over whether local
drug traffic is controlled by a small
group of people or is disorganized, fed by
various "ad hoc" sources.
A source who will be called "Rick,"
who has been acquainted with drug
operations in the area for several years,
said there exists a State College
"mafia," including restaurant owners
and car dealers, that finances large drug
purchases and controls the supply of
certain drugs in town.
"The people at the top have the front
money. They buy at the best price and
they can regulate the selling price," he
said. "They can do it because they have
the capital and the resources to know
where to get it."
Drug enforcement director Williams
said no single network of smugglers
controls the majority of drugs in the
area.
"You can go down to Colombia and
make your own connections there," he
said.
Nearly all sources acknowledge that
some local businesses are connected
with drug smuggling operations.
"I would say there are local
seized two Cuban fishitig boats and
arrested eight fishermen on charges of
poaching in Bahamas waters 40 miles off
Ragged Island at the southern tip of the
Bahamas island chain.
The seven Cuban diplomats met with
Minister of External Affairs Paul L.
Adderley, then returned to Havana.
They were scheduled to return today for
another session of talks beginning at 3:30
p.m.
Adderly said yesterday's discussion
"centered around the facts of the in
cident and the Bahamian note of protest
to Cuba, which requested an appropriate
apology, a guarantee that there would be
University Park, Pa. 16802
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businessmen who have money in the
dope trade," Hargrave said.
Williams said his office has no
evidence, of organized crime in
volvement in local drug operations.
However, when asked whether local
businessmen are involved, Williams
said, "I'll not discuss the truthfulness of
that statement, but I must say there's a
certain amount of believability to it."
However, Williams said, it is nearly
impossible to obtain , evidence to
prosecute people in high places in the
drug hierarchy.
"As you go up the ladder in anything,"
he said, "the further you go up, the
further insulated those individuals are
from the actual criminal actions."
Harry, who deals on a small scale,
said, "The people above me don't want
me to meet the people above them 'cause
the more people you know, the bigger
risk you're taking."
He said most of the major dealers are
very careful to protect themselves,
which means "you can party with them
for two years before they'll sell to you."
'i' . .~.
Illustration by Della Hoke
uard helicopter
no repetition of such violations and that
Cuba henceforth would respect the
Bahamas' sovereignty and territorial
integrity."
He added, "The Bahamas also would
require reparations for the loss of life
and property in the incident."
Despite the Cuban official's statement
to reporters that the incidents were
mistakes, Bahama nian government
spokesman William H. Kalis said the
Cubans "didn't go that far" during the
meeting.
"They mostly listened today," Kalis
said.
Discussing the stakes of the con
ference, Adderly said: "Our bottom line
is four lives and one ship. Theirs is two
fishing boats and eight Cubans. I think
they want to lower the temperature a
bit."
Meanwhile Bahamian Prime Minister
Lynden 0. Pindling headed back to
Nassau from London, not satisfied by
Cuba's apology.
Before leaving London, Pindling
described the attack as "vicious and
dastardly. It was made even more so by
the fact that the Cubans fired on crew
members in the water," he said.
"This appears to have been a totally
unprovoked attack and I shall discuss
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Large suppliers give the drugs to
dealers to sell on consignment, which
means the dealer has a set amount of
time usually two weeks or less to
sell the drugs and return the money to
the supplier, Rick said.
"After that (if the drugs are still un
sold), you might add 15 percent to the
price and have two more weeks," he
said.
Harry and his friend, who will be
called "George," are both "runners,"
small dealers who make their living
traveling around town delivering drugs.
The life of a small scale dealer is not
easy, they said. They both live modestly,
their only luxury being free samples of
what they sell.
"I don't know any dealers who save
money," Harry said. "People who deal
five pounds a week tend to be big con
sumers themselves, and they earn just
enough to get by. That's not living high
on the hog.
"You get burned all the time," he said.
"You might get some pot and think you
can get rid of it but you can't so you have
to cut your price a lot."
A friend of Harry's, who is not directly
involved in the traffic, said: "You'd
think it would be profitable, but it seems
the more they make, the more they do
themselves."
Harry said LSD is the best drug to deal
"because you can't do too much of it. I
couldn't eat into my own profits."
There is not much money to be made
from dealing on a small scale, George
said. "You can run around all night and
make $lO. You can run around all night
and lose money."
Harry said he can sometimes make
$3OO in one week, but that only happens
every three or four months.
"The key is quantity," Harry said. "If
you can sell more you can sell at a lower
price, but you have to know a lot of
people. If you know you can turn over
three pounds, you can get the fourth one
cheap."
All agreements between small dealers
and their customers are verbal, so no
records are left for police, George said.
"It'shard to keep track of everyone
because you can't write down their
names," he said.
with my colleagues whether to take the
incident to the Security Council (of the
United Nations)."
He said even if Cuba's apology is
eventually accepted, the Bahamas will
still "demand reparations both for the
sinking of the ship and for the families of
those killed."
Quoting an official statement in the
Communist Party daily Granma, Radio
Havana said, "If the sunken boat was
really a' Bahamas patrol boat, we sin
cerely regret the incident, because our
aim has always been to maintain the
friendship and respect of this neigh.
boring country."
But the broadcast monitored in Miami
also demanded the Bahamas explain
"why this (patrol) boat fired on a fishing
boat, and why it disobeyed our warning
(shots), and more important, an ex
planation of the whereabouts of the eight
Cuban fishermen."
Arrest of the eight for poaching and
seizure of their two fishing boats led to
the incident 40 miles off of Ragged
Island at the south tip of the Bahamas
island chain Saturday night. The eight
were jailed at Nassau yesterday, their
arraignment postponed indefinitely.
As a result, Harry said, a dealer must
be able to collect debts with force, if
necessary, because he can't go to the
police to complain.
"If you're smart your money never
leaves your hands until you have the
drugs," George said.
Harry and George said dealers keep
each other informed about police ac
tivities.
"The information I get from the
grapevine is really good," Harry said.
"When the drug enforcement people
took out a room at the Sheraton,
everybody in town knew in a couple of
days."
Harry and George said they try to
protect their customers against bad
drugs.
"This last batch of acid wasn't
anything you could see God on, so I told
people that," Harry said.
They said some drug suppliers have a
policy with their dealers to buy drugs
back at cost if they can't be sold.
Hargrave said some dealers use On
Drugs' free analysis service.
"There are dealers who are fairly
scrupulous, who care about the quality
they're handling," he said.
However, Harry said there is a
"seedier side" to drug dealing in State
College. "There are people who are
really out to rip you off," he said.
He said he knows of dealers who make
imitation hashish with marijuana leaves
and pine sap, and some who lie about the
quality of drugs they sell.
"Some people will sell stuff they know
is bad because they've got money tied up
in it," he said.
A noisy evening
Some early morning thunderstorms
will give way to partly sunny skies with
temperatures near 83 by afternoon.
Thunderstorms will return in the late
afternoon and evening, and tonight's low
will be 62. Tomorrow we can expect
patches of clouds and sun along with a
little drier air, but there will still be
some afternoon showers. Tomorrow's
high will be 76.
Photo by Harry Robinson