Kings park in the kNOw Chamber of Commerce District Attorney Thomas Spota anti-drug task force

Kings Park in the kNOw

Suffolk DA Spota to Help Launch New Anti-Drug Effort

by Jay Beatty

September 10, 2007

KINGS PARK, NY -- A new community anti-drug effort community will be launched next week on Wednesday, September 19, at the monthly luncheon meeting of the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce with the help of keynote speaker, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota. The luncheon will take place at the VFW Hall on Church Street in Kings Park

“By paying attention to what goes on in your neighborhood and promptly advising law enforcement of your concerns, the merchants and residents in the Kings Park community can be an invaluable asset in the fight to eradicate illegal drug trafficking,” said Spota (pictured at right) of the new program.

Named Kings Park in the kNOw, -- as in 'Just Say NO' -- the effort is a volunteer non-profit task force made up of of local parents, students, school administrators, and officials from State and County government, along with agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), officers of the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) and The Town of Smithtown Youth Bureau. According to a statement from the organization, their mission "includes working to reach our youth, educate parents and work to eradicate the sale of illegal drugs."

At the Chamber meeting, a new telephone hot-line number will also be announced, a hot-line to allow community members to anonymously report potential drug dealing.

The Kings Park Chamber of Commerce, with strong ties to both local businesses as well as the community at large, is lending its support.

“The Chamber of Commerce is grateful for the hard work and commitment of a special group of community residents who are working together to ensure a safer Kings Park," said Chamber president Charlie Gardner (shown at far right with State Senator John Flanagan.).

"We also acknowledge and appreciate the assistance of Suffolk DA Tom Spota, and his staff, who have worked with the police department in keeping an open line of communication with community residents, businesses and the school district. We are all better off as a result of their efforts,” concluded Gardner.

According to the DA's official website, "The District Attorney is the public’s advocate in the criminal justice system and the first line of defense against those whose acts and conduct serve notice on society that they are not fit to live amongst us." Among the departments managed by the DA is the the Narcotics Bureau.

The bureau, according to the website, "conducts extensive electronic monitoring and complex investigations of narcotics trafficking and works with local, county, state, federal and international police agencies to prosecute narcotics offenses in Suffolk County. The Bureau also coordinates the office's East End Drug Enforcement Task Force, established to respond to the growing need to address the drug distribution problems in the five eastern towns of Suffolk County."

The September 19 luncheon meeting begins at 11:45 a.m. at the VFW Hall. Members of the community are invited; the cost is $15 for Chamber Members, $18 for non-members.

For more information, contact the organization at kpintheknow.org

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