CLEARFIELD – Three of the five men charged in connection with a state attorney general investigation into an alleged Curwensville drug ring appeared in court this week.
Two of the men had their bail amounts lowered, and the third appeared to discuss limiting the timeline for alleged offenses. Questions were also raised regarding a statute of limitations on some of the charges.
“Operation Road Block,” according to state Attorney General Tom Corbett, investigated drug trafficking in and around Curwensville. As a result of an investigation that started at least five years ago, seven men (Robert “Mutt” Prisk of Curwensville, Allen Sheen, currently incarcerated in Florida, Peter Miele of Clearfield, Charles Bloom of Hyde, Dave Bressler of Curwensville, Amos Brimmer of Olanta and Tracy Kester of Curwensville) have charges filed against them as a result of a statewide investigating grand jury.
Bressler, Kester and Bloom were all in court Tuesday to file motions in their cases.
Bressler’s attorney asked that his bail be reduced.
“He has been aware of these charges for almost two years,” Bressler’s attorney, Joseph D. Ryan, said to Judge Fredric J. Ammerman. Ryan also noted that Bressler testified before the grand jury.
Senior Deputy Attorney General David Gorman of the state Attorney General’s Drug Strike Force Section is prosecuting the cases for the commonwealth.
“He was generally cooperative with us,” said Gorman, who noted that if Bressler is convicted, he faces the potential for a mandatory minimum of one year in jail.
Bressler’s bail was reduced from $20,000 straight to $10,000 straight.
Kester was before the judge ask that the length of time in which alleged offenses occurred be narrowed.
The original investigation contained times between January 2001 and May. “How am I supposed to defend?” asked Stephen R. Greenberg, Kester’s attorney.
“We’re still investigating, your honor,” said Gorman.
Gorman’s office now has 30 days in which to file a transcript of Kester’s preliminary hearing. The commonwealth also has two months to complete their investigation into the incident regarding the incidents alleged to have happened in 2005 and 2006.
Greenberg also rasied a question regarding the statute of limitations since some offenses allegedly occurred in 2001, and the criminal complaints were not filed until May.
“This was an ongoing situation at the garage,” Corman said, speaking of an alleged drug operation happening at a garage belonging to Prisk.
Kester is free on $25,000 monetary bail.
Bloom had his bail reduced from $20,000 straight to $10,000 straight.
The charges were filed in the case after an extensive investigation that revealed that Prisk was allegedly using the garage for his trucking company and his home to sell, store and use marijuana and cocaine. The investigation also revealed that Prisk was using his truck to transport drugs back to Clearfield County from the Poconos or New York City. Sometimes the drugs were hidden in auto parts or other cargo.
