The Post-Journal recently recapped the number of arrests tied to Joseph Zaso, a Jamestown man who has pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges involving heroin and fentanyl..

Zaso, also known as Joey Cracks, was first federally indicted on June 7, 2022, with using and maintaining a drug-involved premises and distribution of fentanyl. He is still awaiting sentencing after previously pleading guilty, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In total, 21 people ranging from Jamestown, Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton (who was living in Georgia when he was charged) and Olean face federal charges announced over the past three years.

While a few of those who have been charged are familiar names to those who regularly read The Post-Journal’s police blotter, many of those who have been charged as city police continue pulling on Zaso-related threads have faced either minor charges in the past or haven’t had a reported arrest at all.

That is a sobering thought for both those who are addicted to illegal drugs and wind up involved in trafficking these substances – as happened to a city man who pleaded guilty to federal drug charges in the past couple of weeks – or for those who live in neighborhoods where drug trafficking is taking place. Adding more names to the list of those tangled up in this federal investigation also adds city properties where drug dealing was taking place.

No one should be naive enough to think that removing one drug trafficking operation means the problem is solved. Demand for illegal drugs in the Jamestown area is still high, which means someone – or multiple someones – were more than ready to step in to fill the void. That adds more names and addresses that are being used for drug trafficking.

We’re not surprised a good-sized drug ring was broken up in Jamestown. We won’t be surprised by the next one or the one after that, either. But the number of people who get swept up in these busts is always a little surprising. Let that serve as a reminder of the pernicious nature of illegal drug dealing, the addictiveness of these substances and the need to balance punishment with enough treatment capacity locally to help those who have the will to change their behavior before they get in too deep.