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Feds: Infiltrating SDSU Drug Culture Was Easy

Agents Said All It Took Was Money

POSTED: 6:53 am PDT May 8, 2008
UPDATED: 9:53 am PDT May 8, 2008

Undercover agents who arrested more than 100 suspected drug dealers and users at San Diego State University said it was easy to pass as students and make drug buys.


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Agents said they never had to crack a book or move into university dormitories. All it took was cash.

The federal agents went to one or two parties but never actually went to class or lived in student housing. Instead, they just arranged meetings with suspected dealers they met at social events and asked about buying cocaine, Ecstasy, marijuana and other drugs.

A yearlong undercover operation culminated this week with dozens of arrests, including members of three fraternities, and led to the suspension of six fraternities this week.

A student described by investigators as one of the most important drug traffickers on campus is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday. Kenneth Ciaccio, 19, is a member of the Theta Chi fraternity. He will faces charges related to two drug sales to undercover agents as well as illegal possession of firearms, according to the District Attorney's Office. He faces more than 10 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.

Ciaccio sent out a mass text message to "faithful customers" advertising a sale on different quantities of cocaine, according to federal agents. He was also SDSU's poster child for Compact For Success, an award-winning program that guarantees university admission for at-risk students.

Authorities Continue To Receive Tips

Deputy District Attorney Damon Mosler told NBC 7/39 that his office has received dozens of phone calls and e-mails from parents of SDSU students since the arrests were announced Tuesday. Some people are calling to find out if their children were caught up in the sweep, but others are calling in tips on other possible suspects, Mosler said.

"I've had messages thanking us from some of the parents," Mosler said. "I've had people offering me other names -- a few voice mails of people saying, by the way, this person's involved too."

Students Protest Arrests

The arrests also came under fire Wednesday when about two dozen students at San Diego State staged a protest at the school. Members of the group Students for Sensible Drug Policy held a mock graduation ceremony for 75 students who were arrested in addition to two students who died on campus.

Randy Hencken, the outgoing president of the organization, said the drug arrests will not prevent substance abuse on campus.

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