Pubdate: Sun, 26 Dec 2004
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2004 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact:  http://www.boston.com/globe/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Christine MacDonald, Globe Correspondent

DRUG CONNECTIONS VIA 'DOPE PHONES'

Concerns Raised Over Pay Units Used By Dealers

Dozens of pay phones in the Maverick Square area have Ernie Torgersen 
worried that the neighborhood's telecommunications bonanza is serving as a 
magnet for illegal drug deals.

"I call them the dope phones," said Torgersen, executive director of the 
East Boston Main Streets program, whose office is around the corner from 
Maverick Square. The square alone has nine pay phones on the sidewalks and 
another in the subway station.

Boston Police say such phones have long played a role in street sales of 
illegal drugs. While drug dealers have mostly gone high tech since the 
advent of cellphones and pagers, "buyers may use a [pay] phone when they 
get into the vicinity" where they plan to meet a drug dealer, according to 
Lieutenant Detective Stephen Meade, commander of the Boston Police Drug 
Control Unit. "If they are down-and-out, they may not have a cellphone."

Meade said many drug deals take place in Maverick Square, as in other 
high-traffic areas around the city, and that police know from surveillance 
that the availability of pay phones plays a role.

Drug busts are up this year. Boston police have made 4,582 drug-related 
arrests during the first 11 months of 2004, hundreds more than in 2003, 
when there were 4,132 arrests, and in 2002, which saw 4,163 arrests, 
according to Boston police.

"It's not to be blamed on the phone," said Meade. "The phone is the 
smallest factor of the equation."

Still, Torgersen, who has counted 50 pay phones along the Meridian Street 
stretch between Maverick Square and the Chelsea River, would like to see 
many removed. "If they'd knock it down to 15 to 20 [phones], that would be 
better."

He has brought the issue to city officials, who have begun talking with pay 
phone companies to come up with a solution.

One option under discussion is turning off the phones after 7 p.m. so that 
they could be used only to make emergency calls to police or an operator at 
night. But a variety of options are under discussion, according to Seth 
Gitell, spokesman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

"The city is aware of an array of potential problems surrounding pay phones 
and is working with the pay phone companies about how best to address these 
concerns with a solution that works for everyone," Gitell said.

Catherine Lewis, a spokeswoman for the Verizon phone company, which owns 
several of the pay phones in question, said she was not aware of talks 
between city officials and Verizon.

"But we have and continue to work with law enforcement if there is a 
problem with a phone. We will remove phones if it's in the best interest of 
the community," Lewis said.

She said Verizon often installs pay phones in neighborhoods like East 
Boston, with large immigrant communities, because immigrants tend to be 
heavy pay phone users both for local calls and to stay in touch with 
friends and family in their home countries.

Roberto Escobar, El Salvador's consul general in Boston, said removing pay 
phones from the area could inconvenience thousands of area immigrants who 
use the phones for legitimate calls.

"Not everyone has a cellphone," said Escobar. "Many people use those phones."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth