Scott Shenk wrote a sweet article in the Daily Progress about how, in the 80s, Charlottesville was a booming town for the crack-cocaine business. Drug dealers named the town “Sweet Town” because that implies that business was good. Scott explains
By 1988, drug gangs had infiltrated the city. Open-air drug markets were running all hours — dealers and users crowded street corners and front yards alike, as crack was sold with impunity.
Was Charlottesville a banana republic of crack? Sure sounds like it. In the late 70s and early 80s, the police didn’t care about drugs. When they witnessed an increasing amount of crime associated with drugs, that’s when their priorities changed. The now-sheriff of Albemarle County, Chip Harding, led the charge to shut down the area drug rings. The article mentions that even high profile UVA students were implicated (am not sure about this, but I believe Sigma Nu [another?] was once raided by the FBI for being one of the largest cocaine dealers on the East Coast).
Make sure you read the article. It might change your views of Charlottesville.
Today, we’ve outsourced the cocaine production to Mexican cartels and still admit to powdering our nose.
[pic from hober]
Related posts:
- Charlottesville Drug Kingpin Position Officially Vacant
- Charlottesville Cocaine Coming from Mexican Cartels
- FBI Arrests Owner of Sexshuns
Thor, have you been smoking crack? There has never been a Major seizure of drugs at UVa. The infamous Operation Equinox was a sham of epic proportions. Fifteen months of investigating turned up 33 people, most of them charged with delivery of less than a half-pound of marijuana. Of the 15 people arrested in the first sweep, 14 were busted for dorm room-scale pot sales, while two faced cocaine distribution charges, and one poor soul was indicted for misdemeanor distribution of less than half an ounce. One was indicted for both marijuana and ecstasy sales. JADE warriors also turned up about $20,000 in cash and drugs — a paltry average of some $600 per indicted individual. Additionally, JADE conceded that it had smashed no drug ring, only made a serious of unconnected arrests.
Drug problem with cocaine in the 80’s? What next a story about X in the 90’s?
hmmm.. interesting.. do you have an article about that?
I have oft chastised the weeklies for their coverage of 20 year old murders, but I have to say, a web log covering a newspaper’s coverage of 30 year old drug sales is a bit worse.
What’s next? Twittering a blog’s coverage of a newspaper’s coverage of 40 year old jaywalking tickets. I cant wait.
/smacky the frog.
@2 This should get you started started
So Thor is Vanillavy? Cuz he usually writes this drivel.
This is worse than drivel. It is libelous. There was never an arrest at Sigma Nu. Sigma Nu was not in any way, directly or indirectly, involved or targeted in Operation Equinox, nor was it at any time raided by the police or the FBI. Nor was it ever rumored to be a source of cocaine distribution. If it had been in any way involved in the drug trade it could be assumed that it would have been a target of Operation Equinox, as several other houses were. It was not.
As a previous poster implied, Operation Equinox was a colossal waste of time, money and personnel, resulting in comparatively very modest arrests. It hardly demonstrated the Charlottesville was an open drug market, that law enforcement was uninterested in drug enforcement, or that the UVa fraternity system was significantly involved in a massive drug market.
What it did demonstrate at a minimum is that FBI and police did not consider Sigma Nu to be involved in ANY drug trade, much less cocaine.
This writer is as unethical as he is uniformed.
this website says:
“We have a fantastic team of people who ensure that bad stuff doesn’t get published on this site. We hate making rules, but personal attacks and unfounded claims aren’t allowed.”
Unfounded claims aren’t allowed eh? So, what’s the remedy for failure to enforce that policy?
I think we resolved that already, Syd.
I used to party at Sigma Nu. Never saw any cocaine.
updated sigma nu, because perhaps i am mistaken. i will ask around.. just you wait little Syddy it was definitely a frat at uva that was raided. ps. “am not sure about this” qualifies that statement.
Syd’s umbrage is resplendent – truly a magificent specimen. I am humbled.
only in frat land…
/lawsuit?
There is no perhaps about it. You were completely wrong. Fraternities at UVa were raided, as is trying to be explained to you, but none was ever alleged to be “one of the largest cocaine dealers on the East Coast.” And Sigma Nu was specifically excluded from the operation.
Your specific and general allegations are false. Saying you are not sure about them doesn’t qualify stubbornly bad reporting/opinionating.
Crossing out misinformation is not a resolution.
I think Syd went to SN and likes Pink Floyd. And everyone knows PF is for stoners, not cokeheads. I rest my case. Court is dismissed.
Why do greeks get sooo testy about everything? Is it part of their philanthropic mission statement? I don’t think I have ever met a collectively more defensive group of people.
And speaking of Sigma Nu specifically, I was pummeled by their philanthropic fists back in california in the eighties, so forgive me if I am somewhat less than sympathetic.
/was in Hi Phi Beta Max, myself.
Not so much punk bands, but Sigma Nu did have a pretty cool music scene going on during the 1980’s. Lot’s of local talent played there, as well as some regional/national acts. They had regular “open mic” nights. Boyd Tinsley was a brother there (please, please pardon the pun) and often graced the stage during his pre-Dave Matthews Band days.
I’ve bought cocaine from UVA frats
Who cares about drug enforcement. The sooner they legalize everything the sooner people will care about more important things.
I was at UVa from 82-86. The writer of the ’sweet’ article is arguably the one on drugs. There was lots of pot and of course booze, but I certainly didn’t notice a ‘booming crack cocaine business.”
Maybe I’ve lived a sheltered life.
The drug task force was taking down a lot of perps in poor neighborhoods, and taking some heat for it. Then they organized a strike against the frats, for powder cocaine and other substances. Shame was they were able to get into the friendlier ones, like TKE (which is now a some kind of non-profit agency on Grady). Several of the more elite frats were just as druggy and escaped unscathed because they wouldn’t let outsiders visit so easily. The house mentioned above, SN, was both friendly to outsiders and did not get in trouble, so that says something good about them!
The students convicted spent time in federal prison, with mandatory sentences and no parole. More than one hapless pot fiend really had no chance against a federal prosecution, no matter how prosperous his family. About three frat houses were seized and sold.
Not all busts before the UVa one were in poor nghbhds. There was a sweep of powder cocaine arrests some half-decade before, hitting a lot of downtown food & bev people too. But the proximate run-up to the UVa arrests was an anti-drug campaign in poor nghbhds.
The crack-vs-powder class thing still continues.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090331/OPINION11/90330065/1004/OPINION
Colfer is quite correct. And Sigma Nu back then might have been a “fraternity,” but was hardly “Greek” in the common UVA sense. Hosted great parties and had fun bands there regularly, including much of the Richmond scene from back then. Took in many of the UVA “misfits” as brothers, as did TKE. Both were friendly welcome alternatives to the douchey date-rape laden frat houses down the street.