A New Jersey teenager with reputed ties to the Bloods gang was in court Wednesday facing a felony count of heroin trafficking after his arrest in Springfield.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130404/NEWS02/704049895
Gang-related heroin bust in Springfield
By ERIC FRANCIS
CORRESPONDENT | April 04,2013
Rutland Herald
Matthew Frangos, 16, of Jersey City, New Jersey was ordered held for lack of $100,000 bail Wednesday after Springfield Police said they caught him with a felony amount of heroin hidden in his pants.
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A New Jersey teenager with reputed ties to the Bloods gang was in court Wednesday facing a felony count of heroin trafficking after his arrest in Springfield.
Matthew “Money Matt” Frangos, 16, of Jersey City, N.J., sat at the defense table in the courthouse in White River Junction wearing a red hooded tracksuit with a photograph on his back that appeared to be memorializing a dead gang member.
He watched as an innocent plea was entered on his behalf by a court-appointed public defender and a guardian who was brought in because of his age.
Deputy State’s Attorney David Cahill argued that Frangos’ youth was probably why gang members chose him to carry the drugs that were allegedly stuffed inside his pants when police pulled over a car in Springfield at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
“I fear that we here in Vermont are starting to see a tactic that is pretty well entrenched in cities farther to our south,” Cahill told Judge Robert Gerety. “Criminal organizations involved in the distribution of drugs oftentimes entice their youngest members to engage in the riskiest behavior because the perception is that (as a juvenile) they would have less to lose … that they would be treated very differently than a similarly situated 25-year-old.”
Springfield Police Officer Allison Novasel wrote in her affidavit that Frangos and five other people were in the car when she stopped it on Union Street for improperly signaling a turn.
The driver and two passengers were local residents who were not charged with any offense. But seated in the back next to Frangos were two other New Jersey teens — Rafael “Bang” Jaquez, 18, and Daniel “DeeJay” Morales, 17 — who were in court earlier in the week.
Police said Morales was trying to hide but was spotted as officers asked the occupants to step out of the vehicle.
Jaquez and Morales had already been in court Monday in White River Junction after police had found them inside an apartment on Easter Sunday, seated at a table with a bag of .22-caliber ammunition between them.
They were released Monday after pleading guilty to giving police false names during the investigation into that incident.
During the traffic stop just after midnight Wednesday, police said, a police dog sniffed drugs within the car, so police began searching the occupants. Officers said Frangos had stuffed something into his track pants although he “continually stated it was nothing.”
Once at the Springfield police station, police said, Frangos said he had changed his mind and agreed to have his pants searched.
Police said they then found 50 bags if heroin weighing a total of 16 grams in the backseat of the police cruiser.
In court Wednesday, Cahill told the judge that Frangos already faces serious charges in his home county of Hudson, N.J.: distributing marijuana on school property and being a minor in possession of a firearm while committing a crime.
Cahill said the unemployed teenager had managed to post $75,000 bail in that case. Based on his previous ability to post a high bail in New Jersey and his apparent lack of ties to Vermont while facing up to 30 years in prison, Gerety set bail for Frangos at $100,000.
Perhaps Chuck can post bail and rehab this poor child.
ReplyDeleteChuck couldn't even scrape together enough $$ to join Springfield on the Dole and get his name in print, but I'll bet he'd agree to be a "counselor" for this wayward "yute" if taxpayers would pass a special warrant appropriating tax dollars to the "cause".
DeleteGood job Springfield Police and State Police. We need to get these people off of the streets of Springfield and keep them out of Vermont. Unfortunately, the $100,000 bail should be higher, in my humble opinion. If he made a $75,000 bail in N.J. then what is to keep him from making a $100,000 bail??? Lets up the ante for these types of crimes. Make the bail $500,000. Maybe one of our lawmakers could propose a bill in the Vt. legislature which would significantly increase the bail requirements for distribution of hard drugs. Maybe one of our lawmakers could introduce a bill which would significantly increase the jail time for drug related crimes when a weapon is either found or involved.
ReplyDeleteIf he was able to post a $75,000 bond in NJ, how is he able to qualify for a public defender in VT.
ReplyDeleteHow is he not sent back to NJ in a police car? He is out on bail awaiting trial for a similar offense. Usually when someone is awaiting trial they are not allowed to leave the state. Ohh yeah I forgot, criminals don't follow the law. Kinda like what will happen with the gun ban.
Deleteum if he is out on bail in his home state and facing charges already his bail would be revoked in that state as a violation..so wtf? Has Vermont even bothered to contact that state?
ReplyDeletethat is public information I think someone should drop the dime to the company who bonded him out,,that should take care of him bonding out here. However, it may be too late to present to the judge that he is a flight risk
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ReplyDeleteDon't worry, the prison will create jobs...............
ReplyDelete"The driver and two passengers were local residents who were not charged with any offense."
ReplyDeleteWhy Not? There must be some connection locally if these three were with local people, right? Maybe the SPD should start investigating these local connections too? It isn't enough to only arrest the out of state people - SOMEONE locally is assisting, dealing and using enough to make these frequent supply trips valuable enough to continue. Stop the local need and use and maybe the additional out of state gang members would go away? Seems logical to me anyway, but then, I might be missing something.
i was thinking the same thing- how could they not be charged with anything? Time for a serious smack-down. So sick of being able to park and see a deal go down on nearly every corner in town or in the plaza. And it's great when no one seems to follow up when you call it in.
DeleteOftentimes the ones not charged and released are considered valuable sources for information in the future. Just about any time you hear of an "informant buy," it's one of those previously nc&r people doing the cops a favor. In addition, when the cops are working on cases, they'll check in with nc&r's who will provide them (motivated in part out of gratitude) with information that helps them out.
DeleteCertainly, there might be a seamy side to the relationship; for instance, an informant might set up an innocent person or (more rarely) act in a double-cross. But on the other hand, the more clever criminal types often are wary of dealing any more with them, which forces the released party to get a new circle of acquaintances. And we can hope that the experience has taught them something that many guys learn at $28,000 per head a year in prison.
9:34
Deleteis that you chuck?
The 28000 number rings a bell like that is one of Chucks "Facts"
This 2009 Pew study puts the figure at 29k. I am not sure if it qualifies as a "fact" but it puts it in the ball park. That may not be good enough for 10:10 (my guess is that nothing is good enough for 10:10), but it works for me.
Deletehttp://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5215TW20090302?irpc=932
It was pretty staggering to see the differences in cost between incarceration, probation, and parole.
You're not going to get ME to pay for any socialist welfare programs! I don't care if it's cheaper to have programs for kids and parents; I want to always be able to complain about my taxes being raised to keep 600 men imprisoned in this town at a cost of $17 million per year. I want them kept low so that I can have my evenings interrupted by the sound of kids breaking into my car and my mood ruined by reports of further school vandalism. Yay, freedom and liberty! Boo, socialism!
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DeleteCome on there is no need to lower to the level of a racist. I don't care if you are liberal or comservative. Using the term half breed lowers the discourse in Springfield. Stop turning everything into republican vs democrats and raise the bar here people.
DeleteBRAVO Springfield Police Dept.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.
I for one appreciate the work you do.
Now ,lets make sure the DA puts him in jail instead of parole so it sets an example that we are setting a get tough policy here.
Once again Officer Novasel that was good work.
The new look of Springfield.
ReplyDeleteThe crime was due to their low birth weight.
ReplyDeleteSo, what does it mean that one out of six kids in school was low birth weight, but one out of every two who drops out was low birth weight and 9 out of every ten who winds up in prison before age 24 was low birthweight?
DeleteSee what I mean? Low birth weight does cause criminal behavior and we should send these low birth weight infants from the maternity ward straight to prison.
DeleteI was 4 lbs 10 oz at birth and I have never even been arrested?
DeleteKate, I've stopped commenting under my name since my evil twin has decided to take the flame-throwing responses for me, but I do feel you need to understand that being born LBW doesn't condemn you to a certain fate; it only predisposes you. The LBW babies born to financially secure and educated parents are in households where parents understand risks, appreciate them, want to remove them and have the means to do so, are the ones most likely to do well in growth and development. There are other LBW babies who come from such dysfunctional families that they are removed at birth and adopted by resourceful parents. Their likelihood of a bad outcome is likewise diminished. And there are a few who are able to make it out on their own. For the most part, they are equipped with five identified traits, among which are: physically attractive (making it easier for others to want to help them), in touch with their own feelings and able to trust what they feel (they decide to resolve something that feels bad to them); able to act on their feelings; and able to trust that there is always someone out there who will help them.
DeleteSimply being born LBW doesn't mean a kid is on a downward track, but looking at the factors that caused the LBW will indicate whether there are obstacles to proper nurture that need to be addressed.
You might find yourself described in the above. If you're disappointed that you haven't been arrested, there is something you can do about it.
The weight there were when born has nothing to do with how they are going to be as adults. It is how people are raised that determines how they will act as adults.
DeleteI am by no means an expert as some on this blog want others to think.
DeleteI do know that being taught what is right and wrong by parent(s)makes all the difference in the world.
My teachers were also important when I went to school.
They were not afraid to call my parents and tell them I was acting up.
Most of us that are a little older know there is nothing worse than facing your parents when you have been bad and someone had to call them to let them know there child was acting up.
I feel that the more liberal "my child can do anything he or she wants"style of parenting may not be the best way to raise a child,but thank god my kids are grown up and successful.
I dont know if I would want to bring a child up now.
spelling correction from my post above
Deletethere should be their
12:12 and 1:31: Thank you for identifying factors that detract from or contribute to good child-rearing. Be mindful, however, that it is an extremely complex process which can be weighted toward a bad outcome much more easily than it can be weighted toward a good one. Low birth weight is indeed, as I have pointed out, one of those factors. While it does not predetermine a bad outcome, it indicates a stronger likelihood of that happening, just as you can sometimes tell by looking at a kid that he's on a dead-end road.
DeleteThe point of bringing up LBW is that it takes the efforts of many to help a child cope with such obstacles-- parents and teachers, as you point out, but also rec department staff and programs, police, health care professionals, friends, neighbors and even relatives. It helps if we all have our heads screwed on and our vision directed toward the same positive goals.
Mr. Admin
ReplyDeleteSorry to be off subject but your blog keeps trying to send me to toolshell.org. Why is that. It does it on every laptop and tablet I own. Please figure this out. That may be why there is not Chuck G showing up.
Now his partner has been charged with attempted rape.
ReplyDeleteI dont care if its because of "LBW" or not ,I am just happy that the SPD is actively stopping this type of criminal activity.
The traffic violation stop by Officer Novasel says to me that the police ARE watching the known criminals in town.
There may be a few people on this blog that will scream profiling.
There may be some that want to say its not the fault of the person who knowingly violates the law because of LBW.
My thought is if it walks like a duck ,quacks like a duck and looks like a duck and acts like a duck........
I know I tweaked some sensitive feelings by using these terms but we all have to agree that we have a problem in town and it isnt because of major MAJORITY of LAW abiding citizens ,its because of the very small MINORITY of NON law abiding citizens.
Good job SPD keep up the pressure on the KNOWN "criminal element" .
The MAJORITY of us tax paying law abiding citizens appreciate your hard work and have nothing to fear from you if we dont commit crimes.
The PD is definitely doing a good job, but when times are tough for people, it's an uphill battle. Bank robberies were nowhere near as frequent in the 1920's, when most people who wanted to work had a job, but in the 1930's, they skyrocketed.
ReplyDeleteWe know that post-tax household income levels have been either flat or downhill for the bottom 80% since 1979 or so, but I wonder what drug trafficking income levels have been like during those same years. Anybody have an idea? Chuck Gregory?
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ReplyDeleteThe commenter that dares not speak his name:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback but what makes you think I came from a financially secure, educated family that understood risks, appreciate them and want to remove them, etc.
Talk about dysfunctional families, mine were in the top 10! I guess I am just one of the
lucky few. Maybe next time Vermont Yankee is picketed...I can get arrested. My bucket list is getting shorter and shorter. lol
Kate, I didn't say you were, nor did I think you were, though I did say you might find yourself in the above description. Congratulations on your escape!
DeleteChuck,
DeleteAre you a correspondent now?
For whom?
You're thinking of that case where I was named a co-respondent. Lies, all lies, I tell you! Her mother, who took the money, said she was over eighteen....
Deleteyo just let them go they just bussnis men
ReplyDeleteI am not a businessman, I'm BUSINESS, man.
Delete