Pubdate: Fri, 01 Sep 2006 Source: East Valley Tribune (AZ) Copyright: 2006 East Valley Tribune. Contact: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2708 Author: Bill Richardson Note: Retired Mesa master police officer Bill Richardson lives in the East Valley DRUG GANGS' IMPACT As Local Law Enforcement Officials Grandstand, Career Criminals Roam Free Welcome to another chapter in the ongoing soap opera "As The TAG Team Turns," starring Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and this week co-starring Gov. Janet Napolitano. As the TAG Team looks for a way to get their name in the paper and on the six o'clock news as Election Day creeps closer, Thomas announces his outrage at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, hoping to garner some of the free press Arpaio and his hop-a-long political sidekick Napolitano grabbed by announcing they were personally responsible for writing the letter to Washington that led to the transfer of ICE's Arizona boss Roberto Medina, who is a highly respected cop, doesn't kiss political backsides and has been instrumental in attacking Mexican crime cartels. Unfortunately that's not what really happened. The governor's office was notified more than a month ago by Homeland Security officials in Washington that Medina's temporary Arizona assignment would end shortly and his new permanent assignment would be in El Paso, his hometown. Isn't it just like a politician to try and run a working cop who's leading the charge against organized crime out of town? As for Goddard, he tried his best to grab some ink by re-announcing his attack on Internet porn in wake of the JonBenet Ramsey slaying arrest debacle. Anything for publicity? DEALING WITH DRUG CARTELS While the TAG Team prances and pirouettes for the cameras, hoping to keep us distracted from the reality of their ineptitude during an election year, U.S. marshals from Phoenix and Los Angeles Police Department detectives were tracking murder suspect Omar Delgado from L.A. to Phoenix. According to U.S. Marshal for Arizona David Gonzales, deputy U.S. marshals and the LAPD had been looking for Delgado, who is wanted in L.A. for the cold-blooded execution of a gang member. Delgado is a member of an extremely violent L.A. gang and has a history of arrests for violent crimes and weapons violations. When marshals and L.A. police raided Delgado's last known location, they found 150 kilos of cocaine and a business that was being used as a front for drug trafficking. According to witnesses, the work force of a dozen men at the phony business stayed busy. In the big picture, 150 kilos of coke isn't that much dope. What is significant is the amount of dope in the possession of a suspected L.A. gang executioner who set up shop in Phoenix and was calling the shots in a sizable drug enterprise. Retired Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Phil Jordan, who headed the El Paso Intelligence Center, told me the links between the Mexican drug cartels and American street and prison gangs are real. Jordan described the use of gang members as enforcers, soldiers and middle management in the multi-billion-dollar hemispheric drug trade as eerily reminiscent as the same tactics used by the Italian mafia when it took control of many of America's biggest cities decades ago, the exception being that the Latin cartels are far more violent and kill indiscriminately. Jordan said the seized $3 million worth of cocaine and the front business are no doubt a part of the Mexican drug cartel's supply chain of narcotics distribution locations. TIME FOR ACTION Gonzales echoed serious concerns about the links between gangs and the cartels. As one of the founders of the Arizona GITEM gang task force, Gonzales has watched the sophistication of gangs evolve from thugs on the corner to principal players and career criminals in major organized crime syndicates. In a recent story on career criminals in PoliceOne Magazine, reporter Chuck Remsberg interviewed retired Arizona Department of Public Safety Sgt. Frank "Paco" Marcell. Marcell formerly headed up prison gang investigation units in Arizona and New Mexico, and currently serves on the National Major Gang Task Force. Marcell told Remsberg: "Today's career criminals have changed and authorities need to change, law enforcement fails to understand the unique mind-set of our hardest-core offenders, their increasing influence in the criminal world, and their hair-trigger propensity for violence. Career criminals have an extensive knowledge of the criminal justice system. They know the ropes as well if not better than the law enforcement community. I know they're fully informed about how we do things, in prisons and jails and out on the street. Look at the top leaders in terrorist groups and you see pretty much the same psychological profile." Are we looking at domestic terrorism? Is Arizona law enforcement ready for what's ahead? It's going to take more than the tough talk from the TAG Team to stop these banditos. BILL RICHARDSON COMMENTARY - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom