Pubdate: Tue, 16 Mar 1999
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)
Copyright: 1999 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://www.phillynews.com/
Forum: http://interactive.phillynews.com/talk-show/
Author: Dwight Ott

GUILTY PLEA IN CAMDEN DRUG RING

Alba Restrepo's Plea Followed Her Husband's. The Cocaine Ring Was Called
The City's Largest.

Her husband pleaded guilty on Friday, and yesterday a
frightened-looking Alba Restrepo confessed in court to helping a
violent drug ring distribute millions of dollars of cocaine in Camden
in the last decade.

The petite Restrepo, 35, her dark hair pulled back into a loose
ponytail above an orange prison jumpsuit and manacles, admitted
through an interpreter that she conspired to help distribute between
50 and 150 kilograms of cocaine in Camden with the assistance of her
husband, Eduardo "Quattro" Vargas, and a relative.

Under questioning from U.S. District Judge Joseph Rodriguez, the
Colombian citizen said associates Noel Ruiz and Eduardo "Chino"
Negroni traveled to her home in New York and bought cocaine from her
and her husband. Negroni has pleaded guilty in the case, and Ruiz is
awaiting trial.

Restrepo, who, with 13 other defendants in the case has been detained
without bail, faces 10 years to life in prison. The
multimillion-dollar drug ring that she admitted working for was said
by authorities to be the largest in Camden 13 months ago, when its
members were arrested in a drug sweep. The ring used violence,
including murder, against competitors to protect its cocaine
operation, authorities said.

Working with the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, federal
authorities spent more than 18 months investigating the ring. With
help from some of its members, investigators secretly recorded
drug-related conversations and meetings on audio tape and videotape.
After being shown that evidence, six members of the ring have pleaded
guilty and agreed to cooperate with authorities.

Restrepo's attorney, David Rudenstein, refused to say yesterday
whether his client planned to cooperate.
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