City suspends street worker charged with drug dealing

A second man has been charged in the investigation.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A city worker charged with cocaine trafficking has been suspended without pay, and the man authorities say is his accomplice has been arrested.
Michael A. Dowdy, 36, of 420 Crandall Ave., was suspended, effective today, said Law Director John A. McNally IV. Dowdy will remain off work until the resolution of his criminal case, McNally said.
Dowdy has been a driver-laborer with the street department since 1997.
He was arraigned Friday in municipal court on one count of possession of drugs and two counts of aggravated drug trafficking within 1,000 feet of a school. His North Side home is close to Hayes Middle School.
About 71/2 pounds of powdered cocaine, $60,000, four firearms and a 1994 Cadillac were seized, reports show. The cocaine was field-tested.
Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly set Dowdy's bond at $300,000 cash or surety.
Dowdy was still in jail this morning, a jail spokesman said. He will be in court Dec. 19 for a preliminary hearing.
A search warrant was used to enter Dowdy's house Thursday afternoon. The search followed two undercover drug buys and an investigation headed by the U.S. Treasury Department Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, authorities said.
Second arrest
Another man, Elmer Austin, 36, of 1748 Transylvania Ave., Warren, was arrested on two counts of distributing drugs within 1,000 feet of a school and brought to Youngstown today, said Frank A. D'Alesio, resident agent-in-charge of the Youngstown ATF.
Austin will likely be arraigned Tuesday in Youngstown Municipal Court.
The Transylvania house was also searched Thursday. At the time, no drugs, cash or weapons were found and only documents were taken.
D'Alesio said the case should be transferred to federal court next week for prosecution.
If convicted at the federal level, Dowdy faces a mandatory 20 years in prison and Austin faces a mandatory 10, D'Alesio said. The penalties are enhanced because the drug sales were near a school, he said.
The investigation included ATF, sheriff's departments in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, Youngstown and Niles police and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.
meade@vindy.com