BPD busts heroin ring

IU graduate student Tom Verhovshek pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in Indianapolis Southern Federal District Court Wednesday, said a District Court spokeswoman. \nVerhovshek could face between 10 years to life in prison for his role in a national heroin distribution ring.\nThe charge stemmed from a Bloomington Police Department/Drug Enforcement Agency investigation in which Verhovshek was allegedly found to be part of the ring, BPD Police Capt. Joe Qualters said. \nThe court accepted the plea, and Verhovshek was released on his own recognizance, according to District Court records. He has not been sentenced but will receive a sentencing date after investigations are completed, according to an attendant at the Federal District Clerk's office.\nVerhovshek was not distributing the heroin nationwide but was alleged to be part of a distribution ring that included Illinois and Ohio. Qualters said Verhovshek was the supplier for the group in this area. The graduate student was pursuing a doctoral degree in psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience.\n"We estimate he was moving five to six grams of heroin a week in Bloomington," Qualters said. \nThat amount of heroin equals about 50 to 60 doses a week.\nBPD began investigating Verhovshek in February of 2003 after receiving a tip from a confidential informant. The investigation ran until May of 2003, Qualters said. BPD asked the DEA to help out in the investigation after the scope of the investigation began to broaden. \n"The DEA's involvement in the case began when our detective determined that this was a multi-state operation," Qualters said. "We then provided them with our information and began working with them. It is important for us to utilize the additional resources they offer when conducting these types of investigations."\nOnce the case was under DEA jurisdiction, several arrests were made in the case, but no other arrests were made in Bloomington, Qualters said.\nVerhovshek was charged under title 21 section 846 of U.S. Federal Code and is not eligible for parole because of federal sentencing guidelines created in the 1980s.\n-- Contact staff writer Mike Wilson at mhwilson@indiana.edu.