cannabisnews.com: Cleveland Police Officer Indicted in Cocaine Ring 





Cleveland Police Officer Indicted in Cocaine Ring 
Posted by FoM on January 19, 2000 at 13:04:22 PT
By Mark Gillispie, Plain Dealer Reporter
Source: Cleveland Live
Federal prosecutors yesterday charged a Cleveland police officer with running a cocaine ring that used exotic dancers to recruit customers in show bars. Officer Gregory Colon supplied cocaine to others in the ring and instructed them to sell it at Attitudes Showbar at W. 25th St. and Clark Ave. and at "other areas near W. 25th St. where it was common knowledge that Colon was a Cleveland police officer," according to an indictment. 
Colon, 34, a patrol officer in the 5th District on the East Side, has been a Cleveland police officer since March 1992. He was arrested yesterday afternoon at his home. Police Chief Martin L. Flask said the investigation of the drug ring began after other Cleveland police officers "reported the activity of Officer Colon." "It was because of these officers we were able to work with the FBI to build a case against Officer Colon and obtain an indictment," Flask said. Colon probably will be suspended without pay, Flask said. No other officers were involved in the drug ring, he said. Colon is charged with one count of conspiracy, seven counts of drug distribution, one count of distributing drugs within 1,000 feet of a school and five counts of using a communications device to sell drugs. Also charged in the indictment filed in U.S. District Court yesterday were Cleveland residents Iona Rhodes, 22; Jose Rodriguez, 31; Jorge Webster, 30; and Vanessa F. Messenger, 23. The indictment said Colon would use exotic dancers, such as Rhodes and Messenger, "to attract new drug customers in show bars in the W. 25th St. area." Colon would use Rodriguez and Webster as a "buffer" between himself and his customers, the indictment said. The drug sales occurred between Sept. 15 and Dec. 10, according to the indictment. Colon is charged with directly selling small amounts of cocaine on seven occasions. The largest sale listed in the indictment was 7 grams, about one-quarter of an ounce. One of the sales occurred within 1,000 feet of Blessed Sacrament School at Fulton Rd. and Trowbridge Ave., the indictment said. E-mail: mgillispie plaind.com Phone: (216) 999-4227 Published: January 19, 2000©2000 THE PLAIN DEALER. © 2000 Cleveland Live.Cannabis News Police Related Articles:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/police.shtml
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