MAHONING VALLEY Force takes on toughest crimes

The leader of the task force is concerned about renewal of a sales tax in Mahoning County.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- You'll find drugs connected to almost every crime -- whether you live in a rural farming community, a city fallen on hard times or a township rich with development, says a task force leader.
"If you look at burglaries, thefts, robberies and homicides, the underlying cause is probably drugs," said Bob Magnuson, commander of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force. "No individual [police] agency can get federal money to fight drugs and violent crime. The only way is a membership of agencies."
The MVLETF has eight units under its banner -- drug task force, violent crimes task force, gang unit, fugitive squad, CRT (Critical Response Team), vertical prosecution, pharmaceutical diversion and Homeland Security. Vertical prosecution means the same prosecutor handles a case from its inception.
Grant support
Federal grants support the MVLETF, which has officers on loan from 18 police departments in Mahoning County and the southern part of Trumbull County. The Columbiana County Drug Task Force, FBI, Adult Parole Authority and Mahoning County Prosecutor's office are also members.
Magnuson said federal grants are used for equipment, training, drug-buy money and some drug case overtime. The FBI pays overtime for the gang and fugitive squads and provides equipment for those units, said FBI Special Agent John Lichtefeld.
Lichtefeld described the Valley task force as a "shining example of interagency cooperation."
Officers' salaries are paid by their respective departments.
How many officers
On average, the task force has 60 part- and full-time officers, with another 25 who can be called upon as needed, such as hostage negotiators, some of whom speak Spanish. Magnuson said Canfield, his home town, has used the hostage negotiator team.
Lt. Robin Lees, Youngstown Police Department spokesman and deputy commander of the task force, said the unit's numbers go up and down, depending on the various agencies' ability to provide officers. Police departments that can invest officers in the task force know that it will have an impact on their community, he said.
"You can have all the money and technical support imaginable but without people in the field it doesn't work," Lees said. "The task force needs the investment of personnel or it won't see results."
Communities benefit
He said the smaller departments who assign officers are able to bring to the table concerns of their own community. They also receive a share when seized assets are divvied up.
He said the training offered is invaluable and gives officers a "pedigree." The experience pays off on the witness stand, he said.
Smaller police departments typically assign one officer to the task force. Youngstown has 10 officers split between the drug, violent crimes and gang units.
"It's a very big help out here in the suburbs," said Struthers Detective Jeff Pantall, a member of the task force for roughly 10 years. "When I develop a drug case, I have the ability to get five or eight guys here with one phone call."
Pantall said that if he needs $5,000 to $10,000 in drug buy money, it's available from the task force, as is state-of-the-art equipment.
Magnuson expressed concern for passage of Mahoning County's half-percent sales tax renewal on Nov. 2. The tax generates about $13 million annually and accounts for roughly 26 percent of the general fund.
Sheriff cutbacks
Failure of the tax would mean drastic cuts at the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department, the county's largest department, Magnuson said. He said the sheriff has been very supportive of the task force, which has three deputies assigned to it full time.
Aside from the county sales tax, Magnuson hopes to see passage of police levies, such as the one in Springfield Township, which has an officer assigned to the task force. He said the arrest this past summer of a bartender at Smitty's Bar in New Springfield on drug charges illustrates the need for the task force.
"We provided 10 to 12 officers for surveillance then 20 when we did the raid," Magnuson said. "Springfield couldn't do that on its own."
Magnuson said the task force, located in the Mahoning County annex in the Uptown section of Market Street, obtained the space rent-free from county commissioners. The building needs to be reconfigured to allow secure indoor parking for task force equipment-laden vehicles, which are now scattered throughout the county, he said.
Richard Malagisi, facilities management department director, said the plan is to change two tenants' location in the building, which will free up space for indoor parking near the rear loading dock. Malagisi said the project, which includes electrical upgrades, will be done with capital improvement money, which he believes will require passage of the sales tax to pay back the money borrowed.
meade@vindy.com