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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 1982)
features m Spring time? staff photo by Sumanesh Agrawal This squirrel was found nibbling away in one of the trees in front of the Biolog ical Sciences Building. A number of squirrels can often be found playing and eating in that area. Drug agents express fears and frustrations ioto bv t ath her) Ider Fori ces <er II the si® <g ir , . t hen thrtt| ride. Sites if the city,* nd forced | ig at I itartedatidl a lip of out j ;aid. ‘'Shefif athes.j md hid ill lerete, t tired liFl , andjer | 'j Ibuqueifj attempted 1 United Press International The dealer looked nervously at his buyer. “Are you a DEA (Drug En forcement Administration) agent?” “No,” replied the buyer, an undercover narcotics officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety. The dealer, a 28-year-old professor of music at a west Texas college, appeared satis fied, then glanced across the street at an innocent-looking van. “That van,” he said with a grin, “it’s probably full of narcs.” The agent shook his head, laughed and the deal was made -'l,000 hits of LSD for $8 apiece. But the van was filled with “narcs,” who were recording the transaction on film. The music professor is currently serving a sentence in the Texas Depart ment of Corrections — the re sult of DPS undercover work that is sometimes successful, sometimes fruitless, but always dangerous. The DPS agent, based in west Texas, cannot be identified for safety reasons and to protect further operations. But his methods, fears, failures, victor ies and frustrations are very real and are shared by other agents who buy drugs for the law. “I usually grow my hair lon ger and grow a beard before going undercover,” he said. “I’ve had my cover blown and people (dealers) have men tioned my real name before, asking me if that’s who I vyas. I just say no and they deal.” The agent said that most drug dealers who are hard to “make” are not stupid, but “just greedy.” “That college professor — his case stands out,” the agent said. “He was 28 years old, had a doc torate degree, and was the head of a music department. He fell something was wrong but he took a chance.” But much undercover work is routine. The DPS agent said that often, many small drug purch- The music professor is currently serving a sent ence in the 1 exas De partment of Correc tions — the result of DPS undercover work that is sometimes suc cessful, sometimes fruit less, but always dan gerous. ases must be made over a period of time in order to catch a bigger dealer. Sometimes the work re sults in nothing at all. With court dockets crowded with cases of violent crime, drug case are often pushed aside or pleaded out, he said. “It’s hard to keep it from get ting personal. You have people beat you (in court) after spend ing time away from your wife and kids. Yes, it gets damn per sonal. “Sometimes I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle,” the agent said. “The courts are over crowded and there’s too much plea bargaining. When you do go to court, they don’t try the people, they try my case to see if I did anything wrong. “If people could see if from Battalion/Page 5B February 17, 1982 Storms, winds trigger floods, mudslides, killing at least 4 United Press International A series of storms ravaged the Pacific Northwest with gale- force winds and rain, triggering mudslides and flooding that kil led at least four people. Rising temperatures compounded the problem by melting snow to cre ate avalanches. Worried homeowners in the San Francisco area, still haunted by the January mudslides that killed 37 people, jammed switchboards Monday with calls to authorities seeking informa tion on evacuations as rain fell for a third straight day. “Everything is stable right now,” said a California Highway Patrol spokesman in Santa Cruz County. “But the ground can’t take too much more water.” The storms have dumped up to 10 inches of rain in the past five days. They set off snow and mudslides in Washington, burying a highway worker who had been clearing debris. Avalanche and flood warn ings were issued as rapidly rising temperatures melted more than three feet of snow that accumu lated in mountain areas since Feb. 8. Roads littered with rocks and muddy debris were closed. Gale and flood warnings were in effect for the coast of Oregon and Northern California. Heavy rain and winds gusting to 65 mph swamped the Oregon coast where more than eight inches of rain has fallen. Heavy rains pounded north ern California and the National Weather Service predicted another four inches of rain in the saturated area. Minor flood ing and landslides were re ported. “Right now it’s kind of a wait and see proposition,” a state’s Emergency Services Depart ment spokeswoman said. Washington’s Snohomish River crested three feet over flood stage in pasture land late Monday and flood warnings were in effect for the Snoqual- mie and upper Cowlitz rivers, among others. The rain-swollen Salmon Riv er in Idaho was clogged by an icejam and backed up into part of the town of Salmon, flooding City Hall and several businesses and homes. The Gulf Coast also was doused with up to three inches of rain from southeast Texas to Florida. Some street flooding was reported in Beaumont, Texas. where we see it. We’ll go into a filthy place and there’ll be these dirty people and they may have some dirty kids. And if we’re working a case (undercover), they may look better than we do. “Later, in court, we sit there knowing the truth, they may even have other cases that they (the prosecution) can’t bring up. It’s a circus,” he said. But the agent still prefers life “in the street” to desk work and he said more and more drugs are showing up on west Texas streets. “The deals are getting bigger and the dope is getting more ex pensive,” he warned. Because it has so many re mote areas, west Texas is a prime spot for airplane deliver ies. Often they land on out- ofthe-way farm to markets roads or at night on highways lit with long strips of burning gasoline or lighter fluid. “There’s no telling how many aircraft get through,” he said. Some planes are spotted by the border patrol and the FAA helps when it can. But a narco tics agent’s biggest assets, for deals both large and small, are informants. “A narcotics agent without an informant might as well ‘stay at the house,”’ he said. “Some peo ple volunteer information — their wife or husband may be on drugs — and some do it out of civic duty. Others do it for money. “But we’ve always got some thing going.” Air Force experience can get your career off the ground. If you’re in the market for a challenge, consider becoming an Air Force pilot, navigate or engineer. Top performance is a way of life in the Air Force. As an officer, you’ll be a vital part of the important role that the Air Force plays in world affairs. Find out how Air Force pilots, navigators and engineers enjoy a GREAT WAY OF LIFE by contacting: Tsgt. Ron Hamilton 707 University Dr. College Station (713) 846-5521 846-6790 or check with The Placement Center for recruiting dates. and I bet you thought we only flew airplanes! 0 A great way of life. "6 SW ted 55°-* t eC 1 ^5? to N N N S N !> S N s S Old South Restaurant NOW HIRING wait people bus people dishwashers cooks 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday Parkway Square S. Texas Ave. & Southwest Pkwy. 8 8 8 8 8 s s s s Money Saving Film Developing Specials Offer Good Feb. 15th thru Feb. 19th