OPERATION AIMS TO BUST DRUG LEADERS

Police Say They've 'Uprooted' 29 in Bronx Neighborhood

If you want to kill a plant, start with the root.

That's the philosophy police and prosecutors are taking in their
attack on the city's drug trade. Officials yesterday announced
"Operation Uproot," the takedown of six drug gangs that have had a
stranglehold on one Bronx neighborhood.

So far, 29 people have been charged and police said more arrests are
pending.

"By getting these drug dealers off the street, we intend to restore a
sense of safety and order to the neighborhood," Police Commissioner
Ray Kelly said. "We don't just go after kingpins. We catch everyone
from street-level dealers to upper-level managers."

The six drug gangs apparently co-existed in a confined area in
University Heights, Kelly said. About 20 percent of all the crime in
the 46th Precinct is concentrated in that area, he said.

One of those arrested, Paul Vogelsgang, 40, an alleged dealer for the
"Grand Avenue Gang," is a parolee with a record of convictions on
robbery and weapons charges, as well as arrests for the attempted
murder of a police officer, assault and burglary, Kelly said.

"Operation Uproot," a joint investigation by the police and the office
of the special narcotics prosecutor, began in July, officials said.
Since then, eight undercover detectives have made almost 300
felony-level drug buys of heroin, crack and cocaine.

Citing the ongoing investigation, police declined to reveal further
details of the operation, such as where the dealers worked and how
many more arrests are expected.