Posted on 04/24/2012 9:08:16 AM PDT by raccoonradio
BEVERLY — A Lowell man arrested Friday with nearly a half-pound of heroin was also carrying an EBT card belonging to a known drug user — a card that may have been collateral for a drug debt, police and prosecutors believe.
Campeo A. Diaz-Carela, 43, is facing a minimum mandatory 15 years in prison if found guilty of trafficking heroin over 200 grams, the charge he was arraigned on yesterday in Salem District Court.
Diaz-Carela was also arraigned on charges of giving police a false name, after initially producing identification that showed him as Abisay Montanez, 36. Among the documents Diaz-Carela was carrying were a MassHealth card, a Pennsylvania identification card and a learner's permit, all bearing the name Montanez.
But police also found an electronic benefits transfer card that belongs to a Beverly resident known to police as a regular heroin user, prosecutor Patrick Collins told a Salem District Court judge.
Collins said EBT cards, which have come under scrutiny recently over their misuse, are now being handed over to dealers by addicts.
It wasn't until Diaz-Carela's fingerprints were submitted to an FBI database that he was identified — and discovered to be wanted by immigration officials, as well, having entered the country illegally through Arizona in 2010, Collins said.
Beverly Patrolman Thomas Nolan was working near the North Beverly Plaza when he noticed a Chrysler Pacifica passing slowly and looking at him.
Nolan took down the plate number and learned it was registered to a woman in Lynn whom he knew from prior investigations to be a "straw" buyer for a drug dealer, Collins told Judge Robert Brennan.
Nolan followed the Pacifica to Beverly Commons Drive, not far from the shopping plaza, near Tozer Road, and saw two men get out, one with his hand on a pocket knife attached to his belt.
As both men approached, Nolan pulled out a can of pepper spray. At first, the man with the pocket knife appeared to be cooperative but then ran off, throwing items from his pockets as he ran, according to the police report.
Nolan caught up with the man, as backup arrived.
Police found a package wrapped in foil, about 7 inches by 5 inches, that was filled with chunks of brown matter believed to be 220 grams (7.8 ounces) of heroin, worth about $30,000.
Because of the combination of a likely mandatory minimum sentence and Diaz-Carela's immigration status, Brennan granted Collins' request for $500,000 cash bail.
A status hearing is scheduled for May 15.
If asked about this, Gov. Patrick would probably say,
“These are just anecdotes. We’re gonna be fine.”
Howie Carr list ping
>>It wasn’t until Diaz-Carela’s fingerprints were submitted to an FBI database that he was identified — and discovered to be wanted by immigration officials, as well, having entered the country illegally through Arizona in 2010, Collins said.
http://raccoonradio.freehostia.com/Air/illegalhorn.mp3
The plural of “anecdote” is “data”.
Why should I work hard and pay taxes while other folks get a life of "hangin' out, havin' fun"?
And have them pay for the drug test while they’re at it (someone said something like that on Howie’s show). Have
the EBT card applicant PAY for the drug test!
As for not having picture IDs on cards, that would be raaaaaaaaaaaaaacist! (As apparently would having picture
IDs required to be given a ballot. Anyone could go into a polling place in MA and some other states and give an address and name, perhaps taken from phone booth, and be given a ballot (if they’re in that precinct of course) and when that person does show up to vote they are told, “sorry sir/madam,
but this shows you already voted”)
phone BOOK that should say. This happens when I type fast!
You forgot the part that they have more 'disposable income' than the average family of 4, working to earn $60,000 a year.
My POS sister has been on the dole for 2 years, and has saved her money so she can buy a new Harley. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?
Serious question here: do you have reason to think drug addicts refused welfare would just lie down in an alley and die? Rather than just up their crime efforts to pay for drugs? A 67-year old woman about 4 blocks from me was stabbed in her own home last Monday -- at about 10:00 a.m. -- by a lowlife who needed money for heroin. I don't know that he was on welfare, but whatever money he had, it apparently wasn't enough for his fix. No, I don't know what to do, but I can't see that taking welfare from druggies will make things better.
Was this the Mrs. Coyne case in Southie?
http://bh.heraldinteractive.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1061126634
>>Moments after Timothy Kostka slashed the throat of a beloved South Boston grandmother, he cashed in her winning lottery ticket at the corner store, then used the ill-gotten gains to buy heroin in Roxbury, prosecutors said in court yesterday as they detailed the chilling murder that has Southie’s City Point community reeling.
“It only took a few minutes,” Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Ursula Knight told South Boston District Court Judge Michael Boldan during yesterday’s emotional arraignment. “At 10:03 a.m., he was at Jimmy’s Korner, cashing in the lottery ticket, and at 10:06 a.m., he started making calls for heroin.”
>>Coyne, who had known Kostka, described her attacker to her son, said Knight. She later died at Boston Medical Center at 10:34 a.m., according to a police report.
Knight said Kostka, 26, of South Boston went to Coyne’s East 7th Street home to steal some expensive fishing equipment that belonged to Coyne’s son, Richard.
That’s the one . . . :(
I don't like the idea of paying people so that they don't commit crimes. That feels like extortion: "I'm a drug addict. Give me an EBT card, and I will mug fewer people." I just can't support that.
Also, I think actions should have consequences. If you cannot be a productive member of society, I would want to know why. Some folks can justify that. A drug addict cannot. Why pay someone who is willfully being unproductive?
Lastly, if someone increases their crime efforts, then I think they should go to prison. I'm also rather fond of the death penalty. Starve in an alley, go to prison, face a firing squad -- these are not the only choices, but they should be on the table.
People should be accountable for their actions. Government Charity being used to reward irresponsible behavior bothers me.
Happening all the time. User gives dopeman the ebt card and pin as payment, then reports it lost or stolen after dopeman has used it to fill his own fridge.
That’s your taxes at work folks. Here in Missouri, there’s a Casino boarding pass behind those EBT cards in the carriers wallet or purse.
The new protection racket, hmnnn even easier than before since it is government sanctioned. Cool.
I say legalize drugs so they cost almost nothing and give them out free of charge. That way, the idiot dopers can use as much drugs as they want until they overdose or starve on their own. They wont bother anyone or do much else as long as they have their drugs.
Right now we have addicts destroying/stealing thousands of dollars in property to fence for a few hundred. All to buy a a few dollars worth of product from dealers.
I say legalize drugs and let them be sold like alcohol, so addicts can collect cans or panhandle for their drug money like the hardcore alkies do.
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