D.A. taking hard line on heroin

Part six in a series.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice made a name for herself with her tough-as-nails prosecution of drunken drivers. Now, as the use of heroin has spread on Long Island, it's little surprise that the headstrong D.A. is taking a hard line.

Under her direction, the district attorney's office has prosecuted a number of high-profile heroin dealers. From a 26-person takedown in Nassau County in 2006 to the 2008 arrest of Alexander and Edward Fontanet of Queens, brothers responsible for one of the largest drug rings in Nassau's history, Rice has made it clear that heroin is unwelcome in her jurisdiction.

"I take offense to a system that allows dealers to be diverted into treatment programs," she said in a recent interview with the Herald.

Seated at the head of a long mahogany table in her district court office in Mineola, Rice explained why law enforcement needs to take a different approach than the county's largely successful campaign to tamp down drinking and driving. Unlike DWI crimes, Rice explained, where an overt police presence offers greater results for law enforcement, breaking up drug deals requires more covert police methods.

The district attorney and the Nassau County Police Department are working together to fight heroin using a "three-pronged approach" developed by Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano. The first prong is a program called Operation Heroin Abuse Location and Targeting, or HALT, which directs county money to police and the district attorney's office to combat heroin use. The second is an advertising campaign promoting awareness, and the third consists of educational outreach in schools and communities.