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Show Longest Terms Imposed in Utah for Distribution Wards Remarks; Out of Line, Says Prosecutor Cocaine Defendants Facing Stiff Sentences Some of the sentences handed down so far in a major Intermountain cocaine ring "are the longest sentences ever imposed in federal court in Utah for the distribution of cocaine, U.S. Attorney for Utah Brent Ward said Tuesday. In a press conference, Wad said the 12 defendants sentenced so far are receiving long prison terms. Monday, the last of 21 people charged in a indictment entered guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge David Sam. Fifteen people had already changed their innocent pleas. One defendant has been placed on pretrial diversion, an informal probation. Twelve of those defendants have already been sentenced tq prison terms ranging from two years sentences against the to 15 years. The principal defendants in this case are the longest 170-cou- nt sentences ever imposed in federal court in Utah for the distribution of cocaine, Mr. Ward said. Michael C. Hurren, 40, a Hober City man prosecutors called the main player in the cocaine ring, and George E. OBrien, 41, the Orinda, Calif., cocaine wholesaler, both were sentenced to prison terms. O'Brien was additionally ordered to pay a 175,000 fine. A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City last sum- 15 of them Utahns mer charged the 21 people with conspiring to distribute 100 pounds of cocaine over three years in three Western states. Prosecutors say the South American cocaine worth 215 million was funneled through California wholesalers for distribution in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. Mr. Ward said a two-yeinvestigation began after a cocaine addict involved in the conspiracy ar Salt f ak( tribune Plea-Barga- in , came forward. "His determination to break away from the pattern of his life, which had ruined his life and the lives of countless others, his determination to make amends and cleanse himself of his background, put in motion the efforts of dedicated professionals from several state and federal agencies who were able to bring this case to a successful conclusion with his assistance. Mr. Ward urged others entangled in this vicious web to contact agencies with Information. "Even if you are caught in the grips of this wrenching habit, if you come to us, come clean, cooperate and provide assistance to the government in a case such as this, your cooperation will be recognized, he said. "Take this opportunity to reverse the downward spiral of your actions, he added. Local than the maximum penalty dered by state law. "This office has handled cases in TuesLoren Martin said Attorney day that U.S. Attorney for Utah which we charged the maximum, Brent Ward was wrong in claiming prosecuted the maximum, and that prosecutors and judges were asked for the maximum penalty, said Mr. Martin. "However, there reducing charges in child kidnapare cases under which the maxicases. ping and sexual-abus- e Mr. Ward said his comments on mum penalty would be inapproprithe issue were based on a report on ate. Under such cases, local expericourt dispositons issued by the ence with the law has shown that Utah Office of Legislative Re- juries are disinclined to return guilty verdicts when the law imsearch and General Counsel. poses excessive mandatory penalties and is extreme. The report, according to Mr. The U.S. Attorney for Utah is an Ward, states that 80 percent of the Utah cases of rape or sodomy of appointed office with limited auth-ort- y children are plea bargained with to prosecute federal crimes. See B-- Column 5 the convicted party getting less or- Special to The Tribune FARMINGTON Davis County Wednesday Morning Section B January 15, 1986 Page 1 Outlook Bleak In Islands Of the County Lucidity Aside , Fog May Also Damage House Temperature inversions that trap snow and cold air under layers of fog may be hurting more than your respiratory tract and Contract Over Services With Sandy to Expire Inversions are creating a situation that could mean permanent damage to homes, warns Carl Eriksson, director of Salt Lake County Inspection Services. Damage is caused by dams of ice that form along the eaves as snow melts from from rooftops, he explained. In warmer weather, moisture would run off the edge of the roof, Mr. Eriksson said."But, with current conditions, moisture runs down the roof to the cold, unheated edge . . . where it freezes solid and) forms a small ice dam. Local government services to small islands of unincorporated Salt Lake County inside Sandy may cost more after Feb. 1. Or, they could deteriorate. But commissioners Tuesday agreed the county is just about through subsidizing services to those areas. And Mayor Steve Newton stressed his city isnt going to start. Feb. 1 is a crucial date because thats when the countys $250,000 contract with Sandy for the islands fire protection expires and theres no money for renewal, Commissioners stressed during a meeting with MayI or Newton. isto those Its clear services lands at least the smaller ones , are being subsidized by the rest of the county because of their size, the ; mayor declared. Unless a compromise is reached before the deadline, islands will get fire protection from county stations miles away. And that would add precious minutes to response times. Commission Chairman Bart Bark er hopes the city and county will con sider dissolving their fire departments and forming a special service a concept that has beert district ! discussed for years. Other choices would seem to range from agreements to using volunteers and annexation to the city. Weve got to negotiate some sort of solution, the commissioner declared. The county . . . city . . . citizens all are at a disadvantage. This is an urban society and it$ doubtful a volunteer program would work, the group agreed. And, Mayor Newton said he is op-- ) posed to a agreement for, say, $100,000, because much of the cost of fighting fires eomes in those initial minutes. Annexation? Thats up to residents. i But, yes, the city would like that. A fire district with local control of costs and management would have his backing, the mayor said. While the deadline makes solution of fire protection problems the top priority, Public Works director Donald G. Spencer said patching reads, plowing snow and so on for the islands costs the county too much. By Jack Fenton Tribune Staff Writer outlook on life. Problems develop when water standing behind those dams works under shingles and drips through ceilings, the director noted. Weve seen ice dams a foot thick, he said referring to buildings along the valleys east side where winds arent strong enough to blow snow from rooftops. But, problems can be corrected, Mr. Eriksson noted. As a temporary solution, he recommends installing heat tapes along eaves so ice dams melt and the water drains. Tribune Staff Photo by Von Portet family shovels a driveway, but ice atop roof may cause more damage to their home as water can back up behind A i the thicker ice at the roofs edge and seep through shingles, Continuing inversion temperatures may worsen problem. Predicted Storm Peters Out; Fog to Remain Awhile By Mike Gorrell Tribune Staff Writer Dont look for the inversion to end Wednes- day. A storm, which previously appeared poised to overturn the stagnant air when it reached the Wasatch Front early Wednesday, split into two bands after moving inland over the Northern California coast Tuesday. So its doubtful the storm will be strong enough to unsettle the inversion, said National Weather Service meteorologist William Alder. Maybe there will be enough punch in the storm to stir some things up, but its not as strong as we thought. This inversion is so If anything, we may get some strong freezing rain. But we wont be able to scour the inversion out, Mr. Alder said. The Weather Service said the chance of precipitation Wednesday in Wasatch Front valleys is 30 percent. Localized areas in the mountains may receive two to four inches of new snow, but thats about all, he added. ... The storm that had looked like it might bring sunshine back to northern Utahs valleys got strung out just off the west coast and then split into two weaker bands, one of which passed over Idaho while the other headed south over Arizona. Consequently, the weak ridge that has trapped cold air beneath warm air in the mountains, where temperatures were in the low 40s Tuesday as high as 9,000 feet above mean sea level, will continue through at least Friday, the Weather Service meteorologist noted. We should stay kind of dreary until the weekend . . . Another storm will approach the Beehive State around Saturday and it could move this whole mess out of here, Mr. Alder said. He cautioned, however, that Saturdays storm also could split into two systems off the West Coast, limiting the impact here. I see a change coming in the weather pattern, but whether this one does it or it waits until next week, well have to wait to see. The Weather Service still is predicting several storms to produce precipitation in valley regions next week. Tuesday was the eighth consecutive day of heavy fog at Salt Lake City International Airport. Heavy fog lowers visibility to less than of a mile. one-quart- er To improve flying conditions at the airport, clouds were seeded about 7:45 a.m. Tuesday. That produced extra accumulations of snow grains in areas surrounding the airport, but Mr. Alder noted that the deposition of snow grains was heavier than might have been expected, even before the cloud seeding. Snow grains fell almost a half-inc- h deep at the airport. Why? I think commercial planes stir up the air a little bit. The droplets are supercooled and when they get stirred up bounce Mr. Alder said there already have been 124 occurrences of heavy fog midway through the 1980s compared to 111 in the whole decade of the 70s. The recent expansion of the Great Salt Lake could have helped increase the fogginess, by adding more moisture to the atmosphere, but the meteorologist pointed out that the lake was at a lower level in the 1930s, another era of heavy fog. The inversion also contributed to bitter cold temperatures Tuesday morning. The mercury dropped to 20 degrees Fahrenheit in Randolph, Rich County; in Cache County, the low dipped to 16 in Wellsville, 14 in Smith-fiel13 in Trenton and 4 in Logan. The low in Salt Lake City was 19 degrees, while Coalville had a 2 reading and Vernals temperature dropped to 4. -- -- -- -- -- first-respon- 4 Guilty of Prostitution-Relate- d Odysseys Over For St. Bernard Four people have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the operation of two South Salt Lake massage parlors that were fronts for prostitution. The pleas and closures of the parlors mean three of five massage parlors used for prostitution in Salt Lake County have been closed, said B. Kent Morgan, deputy Salt Lake County attorney. Cases against the other two are pending, he said. Under plea negotiations between Mr. Morgan and defense lawyers, Andrea L. Humphrey, 40, pleaded guilty to a felony racketeering charge in 3rd District Court before Judge Judith M. Billings. Jacqueline E. Hayes, 34, and Ronald W. Sneethen, 20, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count each of attempting to solicit prostitution and William R. Murphy pleaded guilty to two counts of the same charge. The Salt Lake County residents are scheduled to appear before Judge Billings on Feb. 21 for sentencing. Humphrey could face up to 15 years in prison for her plea. The others could face a maximum of one year in the Salt Lake County Jail. Sampson stood in the Western Airlines air cargo office Tuesday, next to a box of 500 dwarf frogs and a cocker spaniel, waiting for his ticket out of Salt Lake City. His flight finally arrived shortly after 10 a.m. and the St. Bernard was seated" in the planes special cargo area for the five-hoflight to his hometown of Boston. k Sampson took an unexpected vacation in Salt Lake City after he managed to loosen his noose at a local gas station while his owner, James McCoy, filled his car up with petrol. Mr. McCoy was on his way home from California to Massachusetts, and wasnt planning on spending more than 10 minutes in Salt Lake City. After Sampson escaped," Mr. McCoy spent four hours looking for his "best friend, but had to give up the search to return home on schedtwo-wee- ule. Enter Utah's Animal Caring Team. Mr McCoy telephoned the organization from Boston and asked if they would cheek the local dog pounds for caany sign of a homeless, nine with a hearty appetite. On New Years Day, Animal Caring Team volunteers finally found Sampson wandering downtown, and Joan Brust was sent to pick him up. "Sampson lived in my backyard for a week, until Mr. McCoy arranged to fly him home," said Mrs. Brust. "It truly is a story with a happy ending." together and precipitate out. A similar result occurs around industrial plants, which add moisture and pollutants while stirring up the stagnant air, he added. first-respon- d court dismissed a charge against Michelle Murphy, 20, and a sixth defendant, Ricardo T. Allen, 24. has yet to appear for trial in the case. The Trlbun Staff Photo by Tim Ketlv Joan Brust and son, Andy, prepare to ship St. Bernard home after it escaped from its owner while traveling through Utah. The charges stemmed from incidents between 1981 and 1984 at the Studio One Health Studio, 3444 S. Main, and the Magic Touch, 3440 S. Main. The two firms advertised as legitimate businesses but operated as houses of prostitution, Mr. Morgan said. Twenty defendants originally were named in the complaint, but some defendants pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Others pleaded guilty to Charges lesser charges in exchange for testimony, and other charges were dismissed at preliminary hearings, Mr. Morgan said. At the hearing Monday, Humphrey also agreed to allow the state to seek to have her forfeit leases to the two businesses at a future hearing. Mr. Morgan said the two parlors already were closed, and the county closed a third one last year. State Snafu in Sending Forms To Cost Taxpayers $50,000 The Utah State Tax Commission is having to resend some 200,000 Form 1099 reports to certain Utah taxpayers, because a computer room error caused them to print information from the wrong year. Form 1099s are those that taxpayers get from banks, credit taxable unions, etc., reporting earnings during the year. They are required for the federal tax filing. Commission Chairman Mark K. state is required by the federal government to send them out on income tax refunds, just as if the state were a bank or savings and loan. The trouble is, the Tax Commission sent out tho information for Buchi said the tax year, rather than the tax year. Regardless of whether they got an erroneous Form 1099 already, the only taxpayers who will get corrected copies will be those who had state tax returns last year. People who got the erroneous forms, stating they were for the 1983 tax year, may throw them away. Mr. Buchi said the error will cost the 1983 1985 $50,000 to fix. He said the forms were sent out staffers were proud of heir efficiency earlier than ever before, and until the error was discovered. Even when the forms are resent later this month, they will still beat the IRS deadline, he noted. t i |
