Pubdate: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 Source: Lumberjack, The (CA Edu) Copyright: The Lumberjack Newspaper, Humboldt State Univesity, 2003 Contact: http://www.thejack.org/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2736 Author: Chris Owens 101 NORTH AND GLASS HOUSE SHUT DOWN Glass Supplier And Manufacturer Busted For Allegedly Trafficking Drug Paraphernalia Law enforcement officials arrested the owners of a popular Northcoast glass manufacturer for trafficking drug paraphernalia. Last Tuesday, Ryan Teurfs, Jason Vrbas and Gabriel Watson, the three owners of 101 North and The Glass House, were indicted in federal court on charges of conspiracy to sell drug paraphernalia, offering the sale of drug paraphernalia and the sale of drug paraphernalia, said Mary-Beth Buchanan of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The arrests occurred in conjunction with Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Headhunter -- a nationwide sweep of glass manufacturers and raw materials dealers who allegedly distributed illegal drug paraphernalia. Attorney General John Ashcroft issued the search and seizure warrants resulting in the indictment of 50 individuals nationwide. Ashcroft stated the evolving pervasiveness and invasiveness of the Internet has directly contributed to rise of the drug paraphernalia industry, which law enforcement will not ignore any longer. "The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force has taken decisive steps to dismantle the illegal drug paraphernalia industry by attacking their physical, financial and Internet infrastructures," Ashcroft said in a press release issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration. During the arraignment, several employees, family members and supporters packed the courtroom as well as the surrounding area outside the courthouse. Holding a banner stating, "Free 101 North Humboldt County," about 40 people huddled around each other on the corner of H and 5th Streets soliciting commuters on Highway 101 to honk for support. After the arrests were made and the arraignment was underway, both 101 North and The Glass House were shut down by the DEA task force pending the upcoming trial. Patrick Kilmer, an employee of 101 North, said that the closure of both facilities will have an extremely negative impact on the local community. "Supposedly they (DEA) feel that producing glass tobacco pipes are being used for the use of illicit drugs, even though we produce them and market them specifically as a tobacco product, they are still being misused and they (DEA) feel this is enough of a reason to come in and arrest these people," Kilmer said. However, Buchanan said that the distributors are attempting to deceive the public by presenting their glassware as a product expressly created for the consumption of tobacco. "Some of these people believe that wink, wink, we actually believe what they are presenting, but we all really know what they are doing," Buchanan said. According to Kilmer and several other supporters, 101 North and The Glass House represent a substantial portion of revenue that Humboldt County receives annually from glassblowing operations. The closure of both facilities could potentially lead to a dramatic loss of revenue for the county. Kilmer said the cost could reach upwards of $2 million dollars. "Humboldt County directly profits from the money that we make and I think it's a really detrimental step because we bring so much money into the community from outside of it," Kilmer said. "Basically this is a Gestapo fascist tactic to try and shut us down, because they think that drug money is funding terrorism and our products could be misconstrued as drug paraphernalia." According to the DEA press release, the indictments also include comments about the use of the Internet as a means of introducing and selling drug paraphernalia to underage buyers who are quickly becoming the primary Internet users. Daniel Levinson, another 101 North employee, said that the Internet charges are completely unrelated to the operation that is carried out by the 101 North and its subsidiary. "We go to extreme measures to ensure that underage buyers are not able to purchase any of our products," he said. "We have a Web page that we exclusively use for advertising but not for the sale of any or our products." Currently, all financial records and accounts used by 101 North and The Glass House have been frozen by warrants issued from the DEA. Don Hines, Chief of Public Affairs for the U.S. Marshal's Office said that the accounts will be blocked indefinitely until the status of the financial records have been determined by the court. "The records need to be examined to determine whether they were part of a criminal process to sell drug paraphernalia," Hines said. "If the records prove to be part of a criminal activity, then the accounts will be released to the U.S. Marshal's Office and redistributed to law enforcement agency activities and programs." On Sunday, the defendants were flown to Pennsylvania where they will be tried on federal charges of selling drug paraphernalia. Several Humboldt County residents are planning benefits for the families of employees of both companies that are to take place when venues are confirmed. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom