Heroin bust reveals new form of organized crime

The break-up of a major heroin ring in the Mahoning Valley would have been the stuff of page one headlines even if there wasn't a New York City connection and even if the marketing of the illegal, potent drug didn't reveal a sophistication that bespoke the success of the enterprise.
Yet the Youngstown-to-New York trade route, the slick packaging, the dealers who came to live in the Valley just to establish the markets, the suburban buyers with their insatiable appetite for heroin and their ability to pay top dollar all point to the fact that organized crime still exists in this region.
But it isn't the organized crime of Lenine "Lenny" Strollo, Joseph "Little Joey" Naples, Vincenzo "Jimmy" Prato and all the other Mafia bosses and their underlings who gave Youngstown its reputation as "Crime Town USA." Rather, it is an enterprise of ruthless, undisciplined drug pushers who have been responsible for the city's record-high homicide rate and the gang warfare that has turned neighborhoods into battlefields.
Task force: And just as the FBI and federal prosecutors are receiving high praise for their successful campaign against the Mafia, which has long corrupted local governments, the Mahoning Valley Drug Task Force has earned the appreciation of all law-abiding area residents for cracking the heroin trafficking ring.
A significant victory has been scored in the war on drugs in the Valley, in general, and the city of Youngstown, in particular. The 37-count indictment of one woman and nine men on charges that include trafficking in heroin, possession of heroin and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities is significant not only because it exposes the long tentacles of the drug enterprise, but because it provides an inside look at the buyers.
According to members of the drug task force, which received accolades from a prosecutor in New York City, the buyers were mostly white, in the mid-20s to mid-50s, and came from Youngstown's suburbs.
As with the Mafia's illegal gambling establishments or the bribing of judges, prosecutors and other elected officials, the drug trade destroys the fabric of a community and sucks the lifeblood out of its population.
But now, as a result of exceptional police work and the willingness of undercover agents to place themselves in harm's way, a major criminal enterprise has been dealt a crippling blow.
Criticism: Members of the Youngstown Police Department who were involved in the task force are deserving of special mention because of the recent criticism leveled at the police by some members of council.
Recently, lawmakers publicly wondered whether Youngstown neighborhoods were getting the police protection they deserved. There was concern, for instance, about response time and the lack of street patrols. Now we know that Youngstown police were involved in an operation that will go a long way toward making high-crime neighborhoods safer.
Given that the indictment of the heroin-ring participants comes on the heels of the arrest of members of a violent East Side gang that openly sold drugs on street corners, it would seem that the good guys are finally winning.
The message to local and out-of-town drug lords is clear: The Mahoning Valley is no longer safe haven for your type of business.