Major Drug Bust

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By Justine Judge

Story Published: Dec 24, 2009 at 12:59 AM EDT

Story Updated: Dec 24, 2009 at 12:59 AM EDT

Eleven kilos of cocaine, nine pounds of marijuana and $2,500 in cash was spread out on a table in the Hampden County Hall of Justice. All of it is evidence from a six-month investigation that ended by shutting down of the largest drug distribution ring in Hampden County.

"This is perhaps the most successful investigation we have been involved with," Hampden County District Attorney William Bennett said.

As of Wednesday, seven men involved in the cocaine distribution ring were under arrest on drug trafficking charges. Those men are Barry Smith, Vincent Washington, Jay Washington, Cory Palm, Ricarte Burgos, Jeffrey Rivera and Johnier Jimenez. Police said Vito Resto, 40, is still on the loose. He is on federal parole and considered armed and dangerous.

"This organization that these investigators have dismantled are responsible for bringing in over 100 Kilos of cocaine into Hampden county during the course of a year," Bennett said.

One kilo of cocaine is worth roughly $1 million. Police said the arrests are a big step toward making city streets safer.

"There has been a lot of information developed linking some of the violence that we saw in our area over the past two months to this particular operation," Bennett said.

"People ask, where does the violence originate in Springfield. It originates with this product right in front of you. That's where the bloodshed comes from, that's where the gun violence comes from, and that's where the gangs coerce around these drugs. So this work and the result of it is very important," Springfield Police Commissioner William Fitchet said.

It took the help of law enforcement from surrounding cities and towns. The investigation even spread to other states where it is still continuing.

"So goes Springfield, so goes the rest of the valley and this is just a shining example of inter-agency cooperation that you see here today," West Springfield Police Chief Tom Burke said.

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Anonymous said on Saturday, Feb 13 at 10:41 PM

carew

sad said on Monday, Feb 1 at 8:32 PM

cory i feel sooooo bad 4 u man hope ur ok same with the rest this sucks man xoxox

karma21 said on Monday, Dec 28 at 5:58 PM

Figure it out do the math 100 kilos during recent years @1million each.that's 100 millions.come on? And they waited until they had 2,500. Dollars.shame on you police.

SmarterThanTheCops said on Monday, Dec 28 at 5:11 PM

Excellent use of resources! Meanwhile Los Angeles County has a back-log of 55,000 rape kits that are untested - some a decade old. Drug violence is only a product of prohibition, not the drugs themselves. I point to the prohibition of alcohol which led to the rise of organized crime and guys like Al Capone. Legalize drugs and use tax profits to set up harm-reduction programs and give free treatment to addicts. We need real criminals, like rapist, off the streets.

Anonymous said on Monday, Dec 28 at 5:10 PM

Excellent use of resources! Meanwhile Los Angeles County has a back-log of 55,000 rape kits that are untested - some a decade old. Drug violence is only a product of prohibition, not the drugs themselves. I point to the prohibition of alcohol which led to the rise of organized crime and guys like Al Capone. Legalize drugs and use tax profits to set up harm-reduction programs and give free treatment to addicts. We need real criminals, like rapist, off the streets.

Brandon said on Monday, Dec 28 at 3:20 PM

I love how people are more worried about correcting the dollar amount to a kilo, its the American way i guess!

Exaggeration said on Monday, Dec 28 at 2:50 PM

I guess that's why they are cops and not drug dealers. If they buy a kilo at $1 mil. (Which averages about 1,014.00 per GRAM) they would be bankrupt quick.

Vince said on Monday, Dec 28 at 1:57 PM

Seriously... this is ridiculous. 1 MILLION $ ! HAHAHAHAH! if these guys could sell 1k for 1m, i dont think they are the one that would have been caught..

Masterphi said on Monday, Dec 28 at 12:50 PM

1 kilo of cocaine is not worth a million bucks. My god, the cops are so stupid. They overvalue everything to make themselves look good. At wholesale cost, a kilo is worth 20k max.

Big Mike said on Monday, Dec 28 at 11:02 AM

Do the police realy think a kilo is worth 1 mil? That is the biggest over value i have ever heard of lol. My god it's value is maybe $20,000.00 tops. What a bunch of clowns.

THE WAtcher said on Monday, Dec 28 at 12:13 AM

Imagine HOw MUch OF The MOney is still in the STreet. They must All have Stacks Stashed Somewhere. For what They Said THEy did in a year, Yall do the math.

War On Drugs said on Sunday, Dec 27 at 10:20 PM

I actually have the movie American Drug War...and I still am against drugs...the movie did not make me rethink my stance at all. I am happy to see this drug bust...I hope to read more stories like this! Good job to all those involved...a very Merry Christmas Indeed!

Bev said on Sunday, Dec 27 at 6:29 PM

What a waste of energy and money. Legalize weed and use the money to treat the real drug addictt.

ak said on Sunday, Dec 27 at 2:00 PM

ya a kilo is 54k maybe if you look at the potential value per gram sale. but ya im not a fan of drugs, but the drug war clearly isn't working. even if we legalized everything drugs like oxycotin would still wreak havoc

randall said on Sunday, Dec 27 at 7:21 AM

in chicago you can buy a kilo for 10.000

me again said on Sunday, Dec 27 at 4:02 AM

okay so i believe that the 2,500 dollars in the article was a typo. BUT the 25,000 they claim to have seized would be 3,571.43 per person they arrested. That would pay for one months in jail. For each of them. So my comment earlier about 2,500 being a waste of police work. 25,000 still does not cover the cost of everything. The drug war is a war that will NEVER be won. Mark my words. Our country have more important issues to worry about then stupid little street thugs.

Anonymous said on Sunday, Dec 27 at 3:56 AM

oh wow, 9lbs of weed and 2500 bucks in cash. Totally worth 6 months of police work. And a kilo is not worth 1million dollars, and even if it was, what is the police dept gonna do with it? sell it. HAHA. And as far as larz wrote, sure they sell to your kids, but your kids make the choice to buy the drugs silly. People who are involved in the drug biz are dangerous, but people make a CHOICE to be involved in it. So great work on wasting more tax payer dollars officers. total fail

NarcsLie said on Sunday, Dec 27 at 2:44 AM

HAHA, I agree with EJRose. A kilo would MAYBE reach $50,000 if sold in extremely small quantities. But 1 MILLION DOLLARS is a completely preposterous estimate.

Dan said on Saturday, Dec 26 at 12:00 AM

Please watch the film 'American Drug War' for free on You Tube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CyuBuT_7I4

EjRose said on Friday, Dec 25 at 10:07 PM

one kilo of cocaine = 1 million dollars? try like 20,000 tops

bobbyROBERT said on Friday, Dec 25 at 3:46 PM

Why give the scum-of-the-earth free room & board? Shoot them on sight & save oodles of $$$$$!!

nauj Smith said on Thursday, Dec 24 at 11:20 AM

How do you know is a Hell Hole??? I agree they need to be arrested but why do you go racist??

larz said on Thursday, Dec 24 at 9:26 AM

these are the bums that sel drugs to our children on the streets and snuff the life out of them .....let them rot in jail, or deport them to whatever hell hole they came out of.............

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