YOUNGSTOWN Raids sever N.Y. cocaine link

The cocaine seized has a 'conservative' street value of $2.4 million, DEA agent says.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- When Marlan B. Everson heard the "white girls" would be delivered, a New York shipment of cocaine was on its way to his South Side home, police say.
Criminal complaints have been filed in U.S. District Court here against Everson, of Summer Street, Youngstown; Jesus C. Morel of Hamilton Avenue, Farrell; and five Dominican Republic men who live in New York. U.S. Magistrate Judge George J. Limbert is expected to hold detention and preliminary hearings this afternoon for Morel and one of the Dominicans; the others are set for Tuesday.
Christa Brunst and Ed Feran, assistant U.S. attorneys, will ask for pretrial detention, saying the men are flight risks. Brunst said the address Morel gave in Farrell is a vacant lot.
All seven men are in federal custody, accused of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. The complaints and affidavits filed in federal court outline a New York-to-Youngstown delivery system.
Intercepted phone call
During a phone call monitored by federal agents, a supplier said he was on his way to Everson's to "deliver the white girls," a code used to refer to kilograms of cocaine, according to court papers.
Members of the Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force and Mahoning County Drug Task Force assisted the Drug Enforcement Administration (Youngstown) task force in two raids this week.
The DEA task force includes police from Youngstown, Boardman, Warren, Salem, Canfield, Beaver and Poland village, deputies from the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department and agents from the IRS and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.
Police raids
The raids were conducted Thursday at 282 Potomac Ave. and 2115 Summer St., according to affidavits authored by Daniel K. DeVille, a Poland police officer and DEA agent. Officers seized 7 1/2 kilograms of powdered cocaine, about 16.5 pounds.
Cocaine was found in the basement rafters at the Potomac house, as well as a shotgun and two bulletproof vests. Officers also found personal items belonging to Everson.
The house is owned by Linda J. Roe of Volney Road, county records show.
At the Summer Street house, officers found Everson, a handgun, powdered and crack cocaine and heroin, according to the complaint. Records show the house is owned by Anita Simmons, of that address, and $2,339 is owed in delinquent taxes.
DEA Special Agent Greg McCoy said the cocaine seized has a "conservative" street value of $2.4 million. Drug users typically spend $100 per ounce for a product that, when cut, is generally only 20 percent pure, he said.
McCoy said cocaine, "goes everywhere and crosses all economic and racial groups."
He said the drug is found in every community in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. Sometimes it comes into the suburbs for delivery into the cities; other times, it comes into the city for delivery into the suburbs, he said.
Dominicans
The five Dominican Republic men in custody are:
* Marino J. Diaz of New York. He was arrested near Everson's home in a red Ford Explorer that had a secret compartment under the rear passenger seat equipped with a hydraulic door used to conceal cocaine, DeVille said in his affidavit.
* Gino F. Almonte of New York. He was arrested at the Talleyho-tel in Liberty.
* Giovanny H. Medina of New York. Same.
* Juan Valdez Reyes of New York. Same.
* Luis M. Valdez of Brentwood, N.Y. Same.
Everson, after his arrest, told agents that he had been dealing with a group of Dominican men who brought him cocaine from New York. The men made frequent trips to Youngstown, staying at hotels in Boardman or Liberty, he told agents.
meade@vindy.com