cover image Dead on Delivery: Inside the Drug Wars, Straight from the Street

Dead on Delivery: Inside the Drug Wars, Straight from the Street

Richard Esposito, Robert M. Stutman. Warner Books, $22.95 (274pp) ISBN 978-0-446-51558-0

Retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official Stutman, assisted by Esposito of New York Newsday , argues that the government's ``war on drugs'' is failing because it chiefly targets dealers rather than users, and neglects education and treatment programs. Stutman became a federal drug agent in 1965, after an unsatisfying six months with the CIA. He gave speeches about drug use around the country, and soon became one of the DEA's most public figures. During a 25-year career, he was a trouble-shooter in DEA offices in Baltimore, Boston and New York City. The 1989 Staten Island murder of agent Everett Hatcher opens these frequently bitter recollections. The final chapter recounts the DEA's nine-month effort, including Stutman's visit to crime boss John Gotti, to catch Hatcher's killer, which resulted in the mob execution of hitman Gus Farace. Photos not seen by PW. (June)