Pubdate: Fri, 18 Jan 2002
Source: Waukesha Freeman (WI)
Copyright: 2002 The Waukesha Freeman
Contact: (262) 542-8259
Website: http://www.freemanol.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/770

INTERNET CONNECTION TO DRUG ACTIVITY POSSIBLE

N.B. Man Reportedly Had Drugs In His System At Death

WAUKESHA -- Area law enforcement say they have not seen any Internet 
traffic connected with illegal drug use in the county although an ongoing 
death investigation might explore just such a link.

New Berlin police this week sought medical records for two men admitted to 
West Allis Memorial Hospital last month after they reportedly took some 
form of opiate, court records showed.

According to documents filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court, Nicholas 
Rizzi, 21, died in New Berlin on Dec. 9 after he stopped breathing. Opiates 
were later found in Rizzi's system at the West Allis hospital. The cause of 
Rizzi's death is pending while authorities await the return of autopsy test 
results, a spokesperson for the Waukesha County Medical Examiner's Office 
said Thursday.

But a 21-year-old man who was with Rizzi the night he died was admitted to 
the hospital two days later with breathing difficulties. After his release 
to the Waukesha County Mental Health Facility, that man told a police 
officer he had ordered opiates over the Internet, a court affidavit said.

The man is not being named by the Freeman because he has not been charged 
with a crime.

However, another person with that 21-year-old man the night before he was 
admitted to the hospital reported that the man told him he had taken 
morphine, the affidavit said.

New Berlin police Lt. David Dunn said police continue to investigate 
Rizzi's death to see if it was suspicious, but declined to release further 
information.

Dunn said New Berlin police had no hard data on whether Internet-related 
drug dealing is a growing problem in that city.

"I don't know if we are seeing more of that," he said. "It doesn't surprise 
me because the Internet is information, and whenever you have an 
information system, people have proven they will engage in both legal and 
illegal activity."

Assistant District Attorney Bill Roach, the lead prosecutor in the drug 
unit of the Waukesha County District Attorney's office, said there was one 
case a couple of years ago involving a person who arranged to pick up a 
rave drug through the Internet. Other than that, he has seen no similar 
incidents.

Waukesha County Sheriff's Capt. Eric Severson, commander of the county's 
Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Unit, said he has heard of agencies in other 
parts of the country working on Internet-related drug activity, but he has 
seen none here.

"The Internet offers privacy that other trafficking purposes don't 
provide," he said. "What you do on your computer, it's pretty hard for 
other people to pay attention to, so unless we get complaints or a 
situation like this where there is a death and where the investigation 
turns in that direction, it's pretty hard to find out about that stuff."

Brian Huber can be reached  ---
MAP posted-by: Jackl