Pubdate: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 Source: Newsday (NY) Page: A34, Queens Edition Copyright: 2002 Newsday Inc. Contact: http://www.newsday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/308 Author: Melanie Lefkowitz, Staff Writer OPERATION AIMS TO BUST DRUG LEADERS Police Say They've 'Uprooted' 29 in Bronx Neighborhood If you want to kill a plant, start with the root. That's the philosophy police and prosecutors are taking in their attack on the city's drug trade. Officials yesterday announced "Operation Uproot," the takedown of six drug gangs that have had a stranglehold on one Bronx neighborhood. So far, 29 people have been charged and police said more arrests are pending. "By getting these drug dealers off the street, we intend to restore a sense of safety and order to the neighborhood," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. "We don't just go after kingpins. We catch everyone from street-level dealers to upper-level managers." The six drug gangs apparently co-existed in a confined area in University Heights, Kelly said. About 20 percent of all the crime in the 46th Precinct is concentrated in that area, he said. One of those arrested, Paul Vogelsgang, 40, an alleged dealer for the "Grand Avenue Gang," is a parolee with a record of convictions on robbery and weapons charges, as well as arrests for the attempted murder of a police officer, assault and burglary, Kelly said. "Operation Uproot," a joint investigation by the police and the office of the special narcotics prosecutor, began in July, officials said. Since then, eight undercover detectives have made almost 300 felony-level drug buys of heroin, crack and cocaine. Citing the ongoing investigation, police declined to reveal further details of the operation, such as where the dealers worked and how many more arrests are expected. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake