Pubdate: Thu, 31 Aug 2006
Source: Park Ridge Herald-Advocate (IL)
Copyright: 2006 Park Ridge Herald-Advocate
Contact:  http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-newsstand?paper2=pr
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4134
Author: Jennifer Johnson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

FATHER MOURNS LOSS OF HIS SON

At the time of his death, 17-year-old Joseph Krecker was a recent 
graduate -- not just from Maine South High School, but from a 
rehabilitation program aimed at ending his drug addiction.

His family was hoping for the best, hoping that he would beat his 
addiction to heroin, although they knew relapses were almost expected.

When Joe did relapse and begin using drugs again in June, he didn't 
get another chance at recovery; the heroin he took was laced with the 
deadly drug fentanyl, said Chicago police, killing him not far from 
where he had purchased the drug.

"I honestly believe my son could have overcome his heroin addiction, 
even if he had relapsed," said Joe's father, Jack Krecker said. "But 
he didn't have that chance because someone put that poison in there."

Krecker said heroin his son took on June 6 contained 54 percent fentanyl.

Last week police charged Corey Crump, 35, of the 1700 block of North 
Austin Avenue, Chicago, with drug-induced homicide, a felony, for 
allegedly selling Krecker a lethal dose of heroin laced with the 
synthetic drug fentanyl.

"The medical examiner told me no one would be able to survive that. 
It stopped his heart instantly," Krecker said.

He said his son's heroin use began just six months prior to his 
death. The family believes a new girlfriend introduced Joe to the 
drug. Krecker said his son showed no signs that he was using heroin, 
so the family remained unaware that there actually was a problem 
until early April when Joe finally confessed he was using and needed help.

Up until that day, things seemed perfectly normal: Every day Joe went 
to school at Maine South and then to his job at O'Hare Airport where 
he worked as part of a clean-up crew. His circle of friends didn't 
appear to have changed, and the only new person in his life was his 
girlfriend. Not knowing that drugs had become part of that 
relationship, Joe's parents encouraged the relationship.

It was only later that Jack Krecker discovered weekly cash 
withdrawals from his son's bank account, withdrawals he believes were 
used to purchase heroin on the weekends.

Once the family learned of Joe's drug use, they put him in a rehab 
program, first at Alexian Brothers Hospital, and then at the 
Rosecrance Adolescent Foundation in Rockford. He remained in rehab 
through April and May.

Just prior to his death, Joe was planning to sign up for a drug 
counseling program, his father said.

"The morning I talked to him -- the morning he died -- he was full of 
life," Jack Krecker recalled. The two had been talking about college 
and Joe's plans to attend Oakton Community College in the fall. After 
taking courses there, it was expected that he would transfer to a state school.

"He was a good athlete and a loyal kid," Krecker said. "I read his 
letters [from rehab]. I know he wanted to be cured. He wanted help 
and he wanted to do good."

One of the biggest problems involving heroin is the ease at which 
teens can get it, Jack Krecker said.

"My son told me, 'I could get a packet of heroin easier than I can 
get cigarettes, beer or wine,'" Krecker said.

A packet of heroin can cost as little as $10, Krecker said, and Park 
Ridge teens visiting Chicago's West Side drug markets are welcomed 
and offered protection from drug dealers, he added.

Krecker said parents and teens need to realize drug use is a "very, 
very real problem" in the community.

"If anything, my wife and I will be advocates for getting the message 
out there , especially to these kids, that this is a real problem," 
he said. "You can't be a casual user. This is just too dangerous."

Krecker said heroin use "needs to be addressed and people need to 
talk about it. Sometimes the signs (a teen is using) aren't there."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman