New federal designation to bolster crime-fighting efforts of FBI-led task force in Erie

A federal designation aimed at combatting large-scale drug trafficking in Erie County is expected to bolster the efforts of a task force that has been fighting violent crime and drug activity in Erie for decades.

The Erie Area Gang Law Enforcement Safe Streets Task Force, which has been in place since the 1990s, has investigated large-scale drug trafficking as part of its crime-fighting efforts in the city. That work will continue in cooperation with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area designation and its mission, officials said.

Erie County was recently designated a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, or HIDTA, through the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The designation provides "critical resources and support" to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations operating in Erie County, Stephen R. Kaufman, the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, said in announcing the designation in May.

Dealers have used the county as a repackaging hub for further distribution of their drugs and to funnel drug proceeds back through the supply line, Kaufman said.

Erie County is one of nearly three dozen areas across the country, including four other counties in Pennsylvania, with the designation under a program created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

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Local law enforcement officials said in May that the designation will provide more money and resources to target major drug trafficking in the county. It will involve all law enforcement agencies in the region in some capacity, with more coordination among those agencies, officials said.

Space leased in Erie

Area law enforcement is already at work on those efforts, Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny said.

The latest public action related to the HIDTA designation occurred on Wednesday, when Erie City Council approved a resolution authorizing the city to enter into an agreement to lease office space on State Street for HIDTA, as well as for the E.A.G.L.E. task force.

The space will cost the city $270,000 over five years, with the FBI reimbursing those expenses monthly, according to the resolution.

Spizarny said the office will be used for HIDTA operations and will hold all of the staff that will be working under the designation. It will also be used for task force operations as needed, he said.

The HIDTA designation and the resources it brings to the area will enhance the work of the Erie Area Gang Law Enforcement task force, or E.A.G.L.E., as well as the work of local, state and federal investigators, according to a statement from the FBI in Pittsburgh.

The work will be coordinated through the combined efforts of the Erie Bureau of Police; the Pennsylvania State Police; the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office; the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the DEA; Homeland Security Investigations; and the FBI, according to the statement.

E.A.G.L.E.'s efforts

Safe Streets Task Forces like E.A.G.L.E. bring federal, state and local law enforcement together to address violent crime plaguing communities, according to information on the FBI's website. There are 160 task forces nationwide, including 14 in Pennsylvania.

The E.A.G.L.E. task force operations are run by the FBI through its Erie office. While much of the task force's work has involved drug investigations, it has also been involved in investigating gun crimes in Erie.

Representatives on the task force include members of the state attorney general's Bureau of Narcotics investigation and the Erie Bureau of Police, the FBI said.

Erie police currently have one full-time member assigned to the task force, Spizarny said.

The Pennsylvania State Police previously had troopers assigned to the task force but currently has no one assigned to it, said Lt. Mark Weindorf, crime section supervisor for state police Troop E and a former task force member. Adding troopers back on the task force is being considered, Weindorf said.

Troop E will have people dedicated to the work done through HIDTA, and state police will serve as a commanding state authority in its efforts, Weindorf said. Erie police will have officers dedicated to HIDTA investigations, Spizarny said.

"What it allows is funding and resources to bring together state, federal and local partners to combat the local drug activity together," Weindorf said of the designation.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie crime: Federal designation to support efforts of local task force