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November 4, 2006

Judge sentences drug dealers













JUSTICE A Lawrence County common pleas judge sentences two "Operation Detroit" dealers to terms in state prison.





BY DEBBIE WACHTER MORRIS DMORRIS@NCNEWSONLINE.COM





Weeping in court yesterday, the mother and ex-wife of John McCurdy sought leniency. His mother, Judith Duxford, and his ex-wife, Tanita McCurdy, traveled from Detroit to speak on his behalf. They remembered him as a family man before drugs destroyed his life. McCurdy, whose nickname was "Isaiah," was one of two drug dealers sentenced in connection with "Operation Detroit," a cocaine ring that operated between Detroit and New Castle from 2003 to 2006. Investigators said the operation generated more than $2 million annually in street sales of crack cocaine. After a two-hour hearing, the 36-year-old McCurdy, one of the operation's higher-up crack dealers, was sentenced to 13 1/2 to 28 years in a state prison by Lawrence County common pleas court Judge Tom Piccione. Bennie M. "Money" Tabb, a lower-level dealer, was sentenced to six to 15 years in state prison. They were the first of 28 alleged drug dealers to face trial. Mike Ahwesh, senior deputy attorney general, said he was satisfied with the sentences. He called them "fair and considerate." He pointed out to the court that McCurdy had been arrested several times in Detroit. "(McCurdy) was one of the higher-ranking dealers in the organization," he said. "We'll see how the others fill in," he said of future trials and possible convictions. Tabb is represented by attorney Nicholas A. Frisk III. McCurdy's counsel is Stephen D. Colafella of Sewickley. Tabb's sentence includes a mandatory five years under state law for a firearms violation from July 2005. According to Ahwesh, 23 of the 28 alleged offenders charged have been jailed, and five are at large, including the drug's kingpin, James Oscar "OZ" Brooks. Brooks was freed on nominal bail under the Rule 600 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, which requires his trial to be called within 180 days of his incarceration. He did not appear for trial. Brooks, who is considered a fugitive, was tried in absentia. On Monday, a jury convicted him on 18 charges. Ahwesh said it is probable Brooks will be sentenced in his absence, but a date has not yet been set. He commented that it was "annoying" to prosecute Brooks without his presence in the courtroom, because, "whom do you point at?" In addition to Brooks, McCurdy and Tabb, five other offenders have entered guilty pleas. Three suspects in the drug ring have not been identified and are at large in Detroit, Ahwesh said. They are known simply as "G" and "Slim," and a man who was assuming a stolen identity. Another at large is 36-year-old Darien Hall of Detroit. The next "Operation Detroit" trials are scheduled to begin Nov. 13 for David Randall, Randy Oates and Lamarol Abram, all of Detroit. Piccione handed down an order Thursday joining their proceedings.



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