Bags of booty for bail

When drug dealers get busted, it is not unusual to have someone show up within hours to post bail with bags of cash

Wayne County Sheriff Richard Pisciotti said the cash-bail situation for drug dealers has become absurd

Wayne County Sheriff Richard Pisciotti admits the situation borders on the absurd. In one case, two high profile drug dealers were arrested within 7 days. Bail was set at $35,000 for the first dealer. A person showed up at the front lobby desk of the Sheriff's Office with a shopping bag full of small bills, within a day, to bail out the man.

With the second individual, bail was set at $25,000 and again a person showed up with a bag of cash to make bail. Both individuals were tied together in a drug network gang where cash is readily available and huge amounts are stashed away for such job-related setbacks.

Wayne County Sheriff Chief Deputy Rick House said it is obvious the cash is drug-related and the smell of drugs even permeates some of the ill-gotten money. Sheriff Pisciotti said that the often crumpled, dirty bills have to be counted and a receipt given to the bags-of-cash presenters.

There was little the Sheriff's Office could do. Yes, a drug-sniffing dog could detect the smell of drugs on the money, but tying a person to the actual sale and distribution of drugs involved in the bail money would not hold up in court.

According to Sheriff Pisciotti, the person bringing in the bags of cash are usually minor players following orders, or perhaps family members getting their major income source back on the streets.

Drug dealers could post a 10% cash bail bond that is secured with property, but that rarely, if ever occurs. The really big dealers are now using the bags-of- cash approach to avoid the discomfort of a jail cell.

On January 11, police nabbed Bobby L. Rouse, age 51, of 1779 Ross Road, Lot # 25, Lyons, and Michael J. Danzey, age 23, of 12 High Street, Apt. # B, Lyons, for Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree. Danzey was also charged with Unlawful Possession of Marijuana.

Police Seized $5,000 in cash, and a 1996 Mercury Sable at the time of their arrest. Rouse and Danzey were arraigned in the Village of Newark Court and were remanded to the Wayne County Jail on $10,000 cash bail.

According to sources, Rouse has two prior felony convictions and Danzey was released from the Wayne County Jail on December for drug-related offenses.

Tanisha Whitfield, of 31 Glasgow Street in Clyde , who shows no visible means of income, posted the cash bail for Rouse in the amount of $10,000 cash. He was out of jail within three days. Danzey made the cash bail the day after his The list of drug dealers and huge cash bails reads like a Who's Who of criminals, many tied to the same network of drug sources.

The Sheriff's Office is now taking a tougher stand on the cash bails, reporting each and every one to the state and federal tax offices. “They (the state and federal tax departments) have more resources, jurisdiction and laws to deal with this,” said Pisciotti. “Let's see how many people are willing to be investigated by the tax people for doing this.”

In addition, the Times will now print the names and addresses of individuals posting cash bail amounts.