Three suspected drug dealers charged

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LOCK HAVEN - Attorney General Tom Corbett announced three more arrests, including Jersey Shore and Mill Hall men, on Thursday afternoon as a result of "Operation Flat Tire II" - The sequel to an investigation that ended in 15 convictions last year for heroin and cocaine trafficking in Clinton, Centre and Lycoming counties.

At a press conference in Lock Haven City Hall, Corbett said drug agencies and local law enforcement authorities charged three individuals in connection with the $2 million cocaine and heroin ring that operated in the tri-county area for years.

The first "Flat Tire" operation focused on trafficking and sales of bulk quantities of cocaine and heroin in the Lock Haven area and concluded in January 2007 with the arrest of ring leader Orlando Diaz, an alleged member of the Latin Kings street gang in New York City.

Police said Diaz was living in Loganton area at the time of the investigation and was responsible for bringing heroin and cocaine from the Bronx to central Pennsylvania.

All the people charged in the first phase of the investigation have been convicted.

Diaz is currently serving 10 to 20 years in state prison.

The three new arrests:

- Michael Marshall, 32, of 5279 Shore Drive, Augustine, Fla., charged with three counts of possession with intent to deliver heroin, three counts of delivery of heroin, two counts of delivery of cocaine, one count of conspiracy, one count of criminal use of a communications facility and one count of receiving stolen property.

- Matthew Anderson, 31, of 19 Dinadan Drive, Mill Hall, charged with three counts of possession with intent to deliver heroin, three counts of delivery of heroin, one count of possession with intent to deliver cocaine, one count of delivery of cocaine, one count of conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.

- Kalen Shaffer, 27, 601 Dutch Hollow Road, Jersey Shore, charged with one count of possession with intent to deliver heroin, one count of delivery of heroin, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.

Anderson and Shaffer were taken into custody early Thursday at their residences, arraigned before Bellefonte District Judge Daniel Hoffman and placed in the Centre County Prison in default of $50,000 bail, each. Marshall remained at large this morning, officials said.

Corbett said Marshall, Shaffer and Anderson all used Diaz as a supplier for drugs and all three would sometimes go with Diaz on his trips to the Bronx to obtain drugs for resale in Lock Haven and surrounding areas.

The three men had other drug sources as well, Corbett said, including several in Clinton and Centre counties, and in Reading.

Marshall allegedly sold cocaine and heroin to many of the same customers that bought from Diaz, according to the grand jury indictment, which noted one case in which Marshall traded 15 bags of heroin for a firearm.

Corbett said the arrests concluded the "Operation Flat Tire" investigation - but added agents are continuing to investigate other avenues, leads and sources of drugs in the Lock Haven area.

"There's still work to be done," he said. "We will continue to investigate and prosecute until drug dealers get the message ... Drugs, guns and violence can't be separated from one another."

Clinton County District Attorney Michael Salisbury echoed many of Corbett's sentiments and added compliments to the men of the Lock Haven and Pine Creek Township police departments who, he said, "are relentless and dedicated officers ... I thank them from the bottom of my heart for what they do."

Also attending the conference were many local officers, Lock Haven Det. Sgt. Charles Shoemaker, who played a key role in both rounds of the investigation, Pine Creek Police Chief David W. Winkleman Sr. and Lock Haven Police Chief Skip Hocker.

The charges were filed before District Judge Dan Hoffman of Bellefonte, and will be prosecuted in Centre County by Deputy Attorney General David Gorman.

Corbett said the charges were filed in Centre County instead of Clinton because the corruption charges allowed authorities to file in either region.

Corbett thanked the Lock Haven Police Department and Clinton County Drug Task Force for their part in the investigation.

The activities of local undercover and narcotics agent Gordon Mincer, who died unexpectedly recently, was featured prominently in the "Findings of Fact" listed by the 26th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury.

Chief Hocker called the investigation one of the most "noteworthy" investigations in Clinton County.

"Operation Flat Tire" was a cooperative investigation directed by the Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation Region IV Drug Task Force .

The grand jury found that Diaz drove to the Bronx at least once a week, sometimes more, to obtain additional drug supplies. He would routinely stop at El Despertar restaurant, drop off any individuals who had accompanied him on his trip and then proceed to another location in the city in order to obtain more drugs.

The three new defendants used Diaz as a supplier, and also acted independently of Diaz, establishing their own system and selling drugs from December 2005 to January 2007, the grand jury said.

Mincer testified about "controlled purchases" made by agents and set up by a third-party confidential informant. In one episode, Mincer was in a closet at a home and watched as Marshall sold drugs to a third party.

Other people named by Mincer as being involved with Marshall in the purchase or distribution of drugs were Mike Bower, Mitzi Bitner, Michelle Driver, Cody Bechdel, Matt Anderson, Mandy Englert, Charles Dickey, Carrie Darwin and Travis Condo. The document did not say whether these individuals were charged and their activities were not specifically listed.

Some of these witnesses indicated they telephoned Marshall to buy drugs, and Bechdel and Bower testified they sold drugs for Marshall. Englert traded a gun with Marshall in return for heroin, the report stated, and Englert said she traveled to Reading with Marshall to obtain heroin.

Henry, Lapp and Englert have testified they were obtaining cocaine from Marshall.

Mincer told the grand jury a substantial number of witnesses - including Michelle Driver, Christina Counsil, Mitzi Bitner and Danny Page - all indicated they purchased heroin and cocaine from Anderson.

The findings of fact suggest Cody Bechdel introduced Shaffer to Diaz.

Corbett said that once Diaz made his purchase, he would allegedly travel to a tire repair shop in New York City, where he would plant the drugs in bags of coffee and place them in a spare tire for transport.

According to the grand jury, Diaz would bring the drugs back to Lock Haven, to the residences of members of his organization, to repackage the drugs for resale in Clinton and Centre counties.

Diaz allegedly provided some of the cocaine and heroin free of charge to various females in exchange for sex.

Most of the other defendants were from the Lock Haven area and sold drugs in Lycoming, Clinton and Centre counties, officials said.

The first round of arrests followed a two-year grand jury investigation and a three-year investigation begun by Lock Haven police and the Clinton County Task Force, Corbett said. As the investigation grew, it came to involve the combined efforts of local officers, state police, the Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, and several New York City police departments.

Investigators also pointed to a major conduit for drug activity in Interstate 80, which offers convenient transportation from New York City through rural Pennsylvania

Court records suggest Diaz was a member of a large Hispanic street gang and targeted Clinton County as an easily accessible region with little competition. Diaz moved to this area, established the necessary connections, recruited local resources with promises of free drugs or money and opened for business, according to the Grand Jury testimony.

In some cases, Diaz would provide his sellers one bundle of heroin for every two they sold. He also would frequently trade drugs to his female sellers in exchange for sexual favors, Corbett said.

After Diaz worked his way through the initial stages of building a network, Corbett said the defendant purchased heroin and cocaine from a supplier in Bronx, where he was a member of the Hispanic street gang known as the "Latin Kings."

The Latin Kings are well known across the United States, in federal and state prisons, and are well established in New York and Pennsylvania, according to authorities.