City police are investigating more drug use at the jail.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Seven people, including a former corrections officer, have been charged with bringing OxyContin into the Lawrence County jail.
City police were called to the jail after inmate Glenn Benegasi was taken to Jameson Hospital after reporting that he had taken OxyContin, a prescription drug, and was in pain.
Police said he was treated at 2:20 a.m. July 8 and told officials he had taken four 80 mg tablets. Court papers said Benegasi did have opiates in his system.
According to an affidavit to support the charges, Benegasi told police his grandmother, Vera Frank, 74, of North Cedar Street, who legally has a prescription for OxyContin, gave Benegasi's girlfriend 10 pills.
The girlfriend, Elena LePore, 33, of West Clayton Street, took the pills and $30 to Tire Express in New Castle and gave them to Albert Tedrow, a work-release inmate, court papers said.
Tedrow told police when he returned to the jail, he gave the pills to another inmate, Ross Edward Seliga, 34, of Logan Avenue, Sharon. The affidavit said Seliga then gave the pills to another inmate, Thomas George Farah II, 45, of Park Avenue, New Castle, who passed them on to corrections officer David B. Kennedy, 22, of Ellwood Road, New Castle.
Kennedy then went to Benegasi's cell and threw in a folded up piece of paper containing six OxyContin tablets, police said. Police said Kennedy no longer works at the jail.
Police said they have a telephone conversation taped at the jail between Benegasi, Frank, LePore and Farah discussing how the drugs would be brought into the jail.
Charges
Charges were filed Tuesday against all seven.
Benegasi, 31, of North Cedar Street, is charged with criminal conspiracy to deliver and possess a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility.
Frank, Kennedy, LePore, Tedrow, Farah and Seliga are each charged with criminal conspiracy to possess a controlled substance and criminal conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.
Frank, LePore and Farah are also charged with criminal use of a communication facility.
Investigation
Matthew Mangino, county district attorney, said the arrests are part of an ongoing investigation into drugs and contraband being brought into the jail and more arrests are pending.
Last week the district attorney's office petitioned common pleas court to halt the jail's work-release program for 48 hours to allow police to investigate how contraband is getting into the lockup. That request came after an inmate died Aug. 13 of a suspected drug overdose.
Mangino said Tedrow, the work-release inmate, and Farah, who is on child-care release during the day to care for his children, are still leaving the jail daily, but he expects their release privileges will soon be revoked.
cioffi@vindy.com
http://www.vindy.com/news/2004/aug/25/lawrence-county-inmates-ex-guard-charged-with/
MOTORCYCLE CRASH Family seeking homicide charges
The family has asked the state attorney general's office to review the charges.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Crystal Wilkins loved life.
So in death, it's hard for her family to accept that the person they believe is responsible isn't being charged with homicide.
Wilkins, 22, died July 14, 2003, after being thrown from a motorcycle on East Lincoln Avenue after it crashed into a parked car.
Driver Nicholas Lauro, 22, of Plank Road was charged last week with having an accident involving death while not properly licensed, a third-degree felony, and recklessly endangering another person, a second-degree misdemeanor.
Wilkins' mother, Susan Wilkins of Venango County, said she believes the charges -- which carry a maximum sentence of nine months in jail, a suspended driver's license and a fine -- aren't severe enough.
New Castle police said they filed homicide-by-vehicle charges against Lauro in May for the crash, but those charges were pulled by the Lawrence County District Attorney's office.
"They refused to let us file homicide-by-vehicle charges. [Assistant District Attorney] Robert Barletta said he decided with the district attorney [Matthew Mangino] which charges are filed," said New Castle Police Chief Tom Sansone.
How things stand
Mangino said his office reviewed the case and believes proving homicide-by-vehicle charges, which require gross negligence, would be difficult. Previous court decisions have found that gross negligence requires more than just a violation of a traffic law such as speeding, he said.
For example, he said, gross negligence would involve driving on the wrong side of the road without headlights at midnight.
"This isn't something that was done on a whim," Mangino said of the charges filed. "We researched this and we looked at the facts of this case. We discussed it with the police on numerous occasions and we made the decision. Certainly it was a difficult decision."
He added that there were no drugs or alcohol in Lauro's system and they didn't believe they would be successful prosecuting him on a homicide-by-vehicle charge.
The district attorney added that there has been a local rule of court since 1985 that any homicide charges filed by police must first be approved by his office. He said New Castle police did not follow that rule when filing the charges in May.
But Sansone and the investigating officers believe a homicide-by-vehicle charge is warranted in the case. The law applies to anyone who recklessly or with gross negligence causes the death of another person while in violation of any law involving the use of a motor vehicle, he said.
A Pennsylvania State Police reconstructionist determined that Lauro was traveling at least 50 to 66 mph when he lost control of the 1999 Honda CBR motorcycle. The speed limit on Lincoln Avenue is 35 mph.
Officials noted that Lauro had only a learner's permit, which does not allow for passengers.
Sansone said that with the accident reconstruction determining speed and four witnesses, they have enough to follow through with the homicide-by-vehicle charge.
"In my opinion the charges we filed initially were the proper charges. I fought with the DA's office for weeks over these charges," said Lt. Tom Macri, who is in charge of traffic investigations for the department. Macri noted that the statute calls for recklessness or gross negligence.
What mother said
Susan Wilkins said she would rather let a jury decide if the homicide-by-vehicle charge is warranted. She has asked the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office to review the case but has not received a response yet.
She describes her daughter as a beautiful person who loved life. She grew up in the country but always wanted to live in the city, her mother said.
The 22-year-old, the oldest of four children, moved to New Castle from her mother's home two weeks before she was killed. Crystal Wilkins worked as a waitress at Mulligan's Restaurant on Butler Avenue and was engaged.
"Everything was just happening for her," Susan Wilkins said.
She last saw her daughter the night before her death at the New Castle Fireworks Festival. The young woman told her she was going to ride on a motorcycle with Lauro, whom she had met through mutual friends.
"I said, 'Crystal, you are going to kill yourself,'" Susan Wilkins said with tears in her eyes. "I wish I hadn't said it. Less than 18 hours later, she was dead."
"He's getting off for a reason unknown," said Sandy Glass of Pittsburgh, Susan Wilkins' sister and the victim's aunt. "I think it's because he's from a well-known family."
Lauro's father, Francis, was a member of the Neshannock school board.
The district attorney said it is unfortunate the Wilkins family has that opinion.
"We don't evaluate family background before we prosecute cases. It's unfortunate that this whole thing [involving the charges initially filed by police] had to frustrate and upset this family," Mangino said.
cioffi@vindy.com
http://www.vindy.com/news/2004/jun/23/motorcycle-crash-family-seeking-homicide-charges/
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Crystal Wilkins loved life.
So in death, it's hard for her family to accept that the person they believe is responsible isn't being charged with homicide.
Wilkins, 22, died July 14, 2003, after being thrown from a motorcycle on East Lincoln Avenue after it crashed into a parked car.
Driver Nicholas Lauro, 22, of Plank Road was charged last week with having an accident involving death while not properly licensed, a third-degree felony, and recklessly endangering another person, a second-degree misdemeanor.
Wilkins' mother, Susan Wilkins of Venango County, said she believes the charges -- which carry a maximum sentence of nine months in jail, a suspended driver's license and a fine -- aren't severe enough.
New Castle police said they filed homicide-by-vehicle charges against Lauro in May for the crash, but those charges were pulled by the Lawrence County District Attorney's office.
"They refused to let us file homicide-by-vehicle charges. [Assistant District Attorney] Robert Barletta said he decided with the district attorney [Matthew Mangino] which charges are filed," said New Castle Police Chief Tom Sansone.
How things stand
Mangino said his office reviewed the case and believes proving homicide-by-vehicle charges, which require gross negligence, would be difficult. Previous court decisions have found that gross negligence requires more than just a violation of a traffic law such as speeding, he said.
For example, he said, gross negligence would involve driving on the wrong side of the road without headlights at midnight.
"This isn't something that was done on a whim," Mangino said of the charges filed. "We researched this and we looked at the facts of this case. We discussed it with the police on numerous occasions and we made the decision. Certainly it was a difficult decision."
He added that there were no drugs or alcohol in Lauro's system and they didn't believe they would be successful prosecuting him on a homicide-by-vehicle charge.
The district attorney added that there has been a local rule of court since 1985 that any homicide charges filed by police must first be approved by his office. He said New Castle police did not follow that rule when filing the charges in May.
But Sansone and the investigating officers believe a homicide-by-vehicle charge is warranted in the case. The law applies to anyone who recklessly or with gross negligence causes the death of another person while in violation of any law involving the use of a motor vehicle, he said.
A Pennsylvania State Police reconstructionist determined that Lauro was traveling at least 50 to 66 mph when he lost control of the 1999 Honda CBR motorcycle. The speed limit on Lincoln Avenue is 35 mph.
Officials noted that Lauro had only a learner's permit, which does not allow for passengers.
Sansone said that with the accident reconstruction determining speed and four witnesses, they have enough to follow through with the homicide-by-vehicle charge.
"In my opinion the charges we filed initially were the proper charges. I fought with the DA's office for weeks over these charges," said Lt. Tom Macri, who is in charge of traffic investigations for the department. Macri noted that the statute calls for recklessness or gross negligence.
What mother said
Susan Wilkins said she would rather let a jury decide if the homicide-by-vehicle charge is warranted. She has asked the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office to review the case but has not received a response yet.
She describes her daughter as a beautiful person who loved life. She grew up in the country but always wanted to live in the city, her mother said.
The 22-year-old, the oldest of four children, moved to New Castle from her mother's home two weeks before she was killed. Crystal Wilkins worked as a waitress at Mulligan's Restaurant on Butler Avenue and was engaged.
"Everything was just happening for her," Susan Wilkins said.
She last saw her daughter the night before her death at the New Castle Fireworks Festival. The young woman told her she was going to ride on a motorcycle with Lauro, whom she had met through mutual friends.
"I said, 'Crystal, you are going to kill yourself,'" Susan Wilkins said with tears in her eyes. "I wish I hadn't said it. Less than 18 hours later, she was dead."
"He's getting off for a reason unknown," said Sandy Glass of Pittsburgh, Susan Wilkins' sister and the victim's aunt. "I think it's because he's from a well-known family."
Lauro's father, Francis, was a member of the Neshannock school board.
The district attorney said it is unfortunate the Wilkins family has that opinion.
"We don't evaluate family background before we prosecute cases. It's unfortunate that this whole thing [involving the charges initially filed by police] had to frustrate and upset this family," Mangino said.
cioffi@vindy.com
http://www.vindy.com/news/2004/jun/23/motorcycle-crash-family-seeking-homicide-charges/
Officials indict 23 on drug-ring charges
Tony McKnight was characterized as the ring leader.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Authorities say they shut down a drug operation that was distributing more than $250,000 worth of cocaine annually into New Castle and Lawrence County.
Gerald Pappert, Pennsylvania's acting attorney general, announced charges against 23 people Tuesday. Matthew Mangino, Lawrence County's district attorney, said five other people were also arrested Tuesday on unrelated drug charges.
Pappert said they continue to investigate the source of the cocaine, which he believes came from Youngstown and Detroit. One Youngstown man, Norman Carter III, 31, of Wardle Avenue is among those charged.
Authorities have characterized Tony L. McKnight, 38, no known address, as the ringleader. Court papers from a state grand jury investigation revealed that McKnight testified before the grand jury after investigators said they found he was selling large amounts of cocaine in New Castle. Pappert said no deals were made with McKnight in exchange for his testimony.
Indictments
Pappert said the grand jury identified those who bought cocaine regularly from McKnight as Randy Bross, 44, of Volant; Cory Mulig, 19, of Bessemer; and Jeffrey Crivelli, 42, Michael Dando, 34, Albert Jackson, 45, Thomas Jones, 44, Edward Reynolds, 54, Lee Vernino, 40, and David Querreira Jr., 42, all of New Castle.
Authorities say McKnight sold the drugs in varying amounts at prices ranging from $20 to $80. Court papers said most of those arrested bought the drugs for their personal use and not to be resold for profit.
Pappert said the grand jury found that Mulig allowed McKnight to cook crack cocaine in her apartment as many as five times per week between September and December 2002. Pappert explained that crack cocaine is derived from powder cocaine in a process that drug dealers call cooking.
Pappert said the grand jury found McKnight usually cooked between a half-ounce to an ounce in Mulig's apartment. In exchange for using the residence, the grand jury found that McKnight regularly supplied Mulig with a half-gram -- 0.018 ounce -- of powder cocaine.
Alleged to be drivers
The grand jury found that Lisa Mars, 21, of New Castle, with whom McKnight had a romantic relationship, drove McKnight to drug deals on at least five occasions.
The grand jury also found that Bernice Clyburn, 47, of New Castle, drove McKnight to various drug deals and he paid her with crack.
Pappert said McKnight used various suppliers. They found that from September through December 2002, McKnight bought his cocaine from Kevin Moore, no age or address available. The grand jury also believes McKnight was supplied cocaine by Lance Harrison, 26, of New Castle from October through November 2002.
The grand jury found that Mary Shoaff, 52, of New Castle was one of McKnight's main customers. From January 2002 to December 2002, McKnight went to Shoaff's house five times a week to sell coke to various people. The grand jury also found that McKnight supplied coke to Shoaff.
Pappert said the grand jury also found that Shoaff obtained coke from Norman Carter III, who was described to the grand jury as a major cocaine distributor in New Castle.
Pappert said that during the investigation, undercover agents made four buys of the drug from Carter.
OxyContin
The grand jury found that McKnight was also illegally distributing the prescription painkiller OxyContin from May through December 2002, Pappert said.
McKnight supplied Melissa Houston, 19, of New Castle, with OxyContin pills, and she, in turn, sold them to Justin Palkovich of New Castle and others, authorities said. The grand jury also found that McKnight supplied OxyContin to David Yerage, 47, of New Castle, who paid McKnight for the pills with clothing that McKnight believed Yerage had shoplifted.
The grand jury also found that McKnight supplied his sports bookie, Shawn Quinn, 39, of New Castle with crack.
District Attorney Mangino said arrest warrants were also issued for the following New Castle residents: Stacy Damerosi, 21, of North Mercer Street; John Carson, 26, of North Jefferson Street; Donald Chiarini, 45, of Harrison Street; Robert Hoon, no age given, of Raymond Street; and Edwin S. Lewis, no age given, of Chestnut Street. Drug-related charges were filed.
District Justice Melissa Amodie said that by noon Tuesday, 13 people had been preliminarily arraigned by her office. She set bail amounts at $10,000, $15,000 and $25,000. Preliminary hearings are planned for next Wednesday and April 1 in Lawrence County Central Court, she said.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2004/mar/27/officials-indict-23-on-drug-ring-charges/
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Authorities say they shut down a drug operation that was distributing more than $250,000 worth of cocaine annually into New Castle and Lawrence County.
Gerald Pappert, Pennsylvania's acting attorney general, announced charges against 23 people Tuesday. Matthew Mangino, Lawrence County's district attorney, said five other people were also arrested Tuesday on unrelated drug charges.
Pappert said they continue to investigate the source of the cocaine, which he believes came from Youngstown and Detroit. One Youngstown man, Norman Carter III, 31, of Wardle Avenue is among those charged.
Authorities have characterized Tony L. McKnight, 38, no known address, as the ringleader. Court papers from a state grand jury investigation revealed that McKnight testified before the grand jury after investigators said they found he was selling large amounts of cocaine in New Castle. Pappert said no deals were made with McKnight in exchange for his testimony.
Indictments
Pappert said the grand jury identified those who bought cocaine regularly from McKnight as Randy Bross, 44, of Volant; Cory Mulig, 19, of Bessemer; and Jeffrey Crivelli, 42, Michael Dando, 34, Albert Jackson, 45, Thomas Jones, 44, Edward Reynolds, 54, Lee Vernino, 40, and David Querreira Jr., 42, all of New Castle.
Authorities say McKnight sold the drugs in varying amounts at prices ranging from $20 to $80. Court papers said most of those arrested bought the drugs for their personal use and not to be resold for profit.
Pappert said the grand jury found that Mulig allowed McKnight to cook crack cocaine in her apartment as many as five times per week between September and December 2002. Pappert explained that crack cocaine is derived from powder cocaine in a process that drug dealers call cooking.
Pappert said the grand jury found McKnight usually cooked between a half-ounce to an ounce in Mulig's apartment. In exchange for using the residence, the grand jury found that McKnight regularly supplied Mulig with a half-gram -- 0.018 ounce -- of powder cocaine.
Alleged to be drivers
The grand jury found that Lisa Mars, 21, of New Castle, with whom McKnight had a romantic relationship, drove McKnight to drug deals on at least five occasions.
The grand jury also found that Bernice Clyburn, 47, of New Castle, drove McKnight to various drug deals and he paid her with crack.
Pappert said McKnight used various suppliers. They found that from September through December 2002, McKnight bought his cocaine from Kevin Moore, no age or address available. The grand jury also believes McKnight was supplied cocaine by Lance Harrison, 26, of New Castle from October through November 2002.
The grand jury found that Mary Shoaff, 52, of New Castle was one of McKnight's main customers. From January 2002 to December 2002, McKnight went to Shoaff's house five times a week to sell coke to various people. The grand jury also found that McKnight supplied coke to Shoaff.
Pappert said the grand jury also found that Shoaff obtained coke from Norman Carter III, who was described to the grand jury as a major cocaine distributor in New Castle.
Pappert said that during the investigation, undercover agents made four buys of the drug from Carter.
OxyContin
The grand jury found that McKnight was also illegally distributing the prescription painkiller OxyContin from May through December 2002, Pappert said.
McKnight supplied Melissa Houston, 19, of New Castle, with OxyContin pills, and she, in turn, sold them to Justin Palkovich of New Castle and others, authorities said. The grand jury also found that McKnight supplied OxyContin to David Yerage, 47, of New Castle, who paid McKnight for the pills with clothing that McKnight believed Yerage had shoplifted.
The grand jury also found that McKnight supplied his sports bookie, Shawn Quinn, 39, of New Castle with crack.
District Attorney Mangino said arrest warrants were also issued for the following New Castle residents: Stacy Damerosi, 21, of North Mercer Street; John Carson, 26, of North Jefferson Street; Donald Chiarini, 45, of Harrison Street; Robert Hoon, no age given, of Raymond Street; and Edwin S. Lewis, no age given, of Chestnut Street. Drug-related charges were filed.
District Justice Melissa Amodie said that by noon Tuesday, 13 people had been preliminarily arraigned by her office. She set bail amounts at $10,000, $15,000 and $25,000. Preliminary hearings are planned for next Wednesday and April 1 in Lawrence County Central Court, she said.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2004/mar/27/officials-indict-23-on-drug-ring-charges/