The Tipsy Taxi, shown above, was used by an undercover Ocean City police officer to make drug busts in Operation Sand Dollar. / SCOTT MUSKA/THE DAILY TIMES
OCEAN CITY -- An Ocean City police officer worked undercover as a taxi driver for nearly two years as the nucleus of an undercover drug sting that led to the identification of 34 suspects and the filing of more than 100 drug-related charges.
In January 2010, OCPD began "Operation Sand Dollar" when it acquired a taxi medallion for a legitimate business: a one-man, one-vehicle fleet dubbed Tipsy Taxi. An undercover officer took the keys of a silver minivan, which he drove around town picking up honest fares -- while also forging relationships with people with whom he subsequently made drug deals.
The majority of the deals involved pharmaceutical drugs. Some deals took place in the cab, while others occurred in other venues, according to Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino.
This Jan. 25, a Worcester County grand jury indicted the 34 suspects, and police began rounding them up Feb. 2 to face a total of 91 controlled substance distribution charges and 28 conspiracy to distribute controlled substances charges.
Twenty-two suspects were apprehended, four were already in custody for unrelated charges, one had died and the remaining names have been forwarded to the state's apprehension team.
Most of the suspects are locals; tourists were not targeted during the operation, according to DiPino.
The department is not releasing the name of the officer or specific details about the operational procedures he used to identify suspects, but DiPino said he would essentially meet people, determine whether they may be selling drugs and then he would "go from there."
"It's quite simple, actually," DiPino said at the Ocean City Public Safety Building.
She thanked the officer multiple times for the sacrifices he and his family made as part of the effort to lessen the resort's drug trafficking.
"It is not an easy thing to give up your life for that amount of time," she said.
OCPD decided on the taxi company operation during brainstorming sessions centering on how to combat drug activity in the downtown area, according to DiPino. The department knew cabs were a popular mode of transportation for people who buy and sell drugs, and working as a taxi driver could allow an undercover officer to expose himself to some social circles that include people who may be committing drug-related offenses.
OCPD used the money the driver acquired from his fares and tips to help fund the operation. More was pumped into it by the department than was made by the cop-turned-cabbie, DiPino said, so the department did not profit from the sting. The amount spent on the operation was not disclosed by police.
DiPino thanked former city manager Dennis Dare, who knew of the operation from its inception. It would not have been possible without his support, she said.
The city manager is in charge of bringing taxi medallion awards and transfers to the Town Council for approval.
Doug Cymek said he and other councilmembers weren't aware of the operation when they approved a medallion issuance for Tipsy Taxi, and he only found out about the sting after the indictments.
Worcester County State's Attorney Beau Oglesby said he isn't worried that OCPD's methods during the sting will be legally construed as entrapment.
"Believe me, we were very thorough in our review of the cases," he said, adding some of the customers who encountered the operation were not prosecuted. "We vetted the entire investigation, and I think we have very solid cases."
One owner of a resort taxi company who asked not to be named said he thinks OCPD's operation was a good idea.
"You've gotta do what you gotta do to keep the street safe," he said.
"If anything, it's going to make people more comfortable (in cabs), thinking the driver could be a cop, and it's gonna teach the people who are bad not to talk to the cab driver about those things."
DiPino thanked former city manager Dennis Dare, who knew of the operation from its inception. It would not have been possible without his support, she said.
The city manager is in charge of bringing taxi medallion awards and transfers to the Town Council for approval.
Doug Cymek said he and other councilmembers weren't aware of the operation when they approved a medallion issuance for Tipsy Taxi, and he only found out about the sting after the indictments.
Worcester County State's Attorney Beau Oglesby said he isn't worried that OCPD's methods during the sting will be legally construed as entrapment.
"Believe me, we were very thorough in our review of the cases," he said, adding some of the customers who encountered the operation were not prosecuted. "We vetted the entire investigation, and I think we have very solid cases."
One owner of a resort taxi company who asked not to be named said he thinks OCPD's operation was a good idea.
"You've gotta do what you gotta do to keep the street safe," he said.
"If anything, it's going to make people more comfortable (in cabs), thinking the driver could be a cop, and it's gonna teach the people who are bad not to talk to the cab driver about those things."
Operation Sand Dollar's success carries with it a message to drug dealers and other criminals that they can never know for sure who is and who is not an undercover cop, according to DiPino, who said they could be undercover as a bartender, a bus driver or even a street performer. DiPino added that threats had been made against the undercover officer, and the department would be searching for those who made them while also protecting the policeman and his family.
