Donald Gross Sr.

Donald Helsman 
Nov. 15, 1992 
Donald A. Helsman, 77, Of Allenwood, Rd 1, Died Sunday In The Evangelical 
Community Hospital, Lewisburg.

By JERRY LYNOTT; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Thursday, November 19, 1992 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 2D QUICK WORDS: RISH DRUG 





WILKES-BARRE -- It was all or nothing Wednesday for Anthony Rish as he
pleaded guilty to 26 charges relating to drug trafficking out of his
grandmother's bar in Freeland. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rish, 41, of Schwabe Street, Freeland, received a five- to 10-year sentence
on each of the charges. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; However, according to the plea agreement, Luzerne County Judge Ann Lokuta
ordered that he serve time on only the first count, operating a corrupt
organization. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As called for in the agreement, Lokuta also applied the almost three years
Rish has served in federal prisons to the state sentence. Rish pleaded guilty
to drug trafficking charges in federal court and began serving a 40-month
sentence in January 1991. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I can say I'm sorry," Rish, a recovering heroin addict, told Lokuta.
"Nobody paid more than I did. I'm the victim as much as I'm the villain, I
guess." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Defense attorney Michael Bart said Rish may have to serve a little less
than two years of the state sentence on charges of delivery of a controlled
substance, conspiracy, possession with intent to deliver a controlled
substance and operating a corrupt organization. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bart will be back in court at 10 a.m. today when Rish enters another plea
to charges connected to the Freeland drug trafficking ring. The attorney said
Rish would be sentenced to time served for that plea. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rish has been in and out of county court on the charges since 1990. He
pleaded guilty to eight of the 26 charges in September 1990. In January 1991
he was sentenced to five years in a state prison but that time was to be
served simultaneously to the federal time. He later withdrew his guilty plea
in county court. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 According to investigators, Rish and others dealt approximately $500,000
worth of heroin, cocaine and dilaudid, a synthetic narcotic, out of Nocchi's
bar between June 1989 and February 1990. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 More than 20 people pleaded guilty and were sentenced on charges in
connection to the trafficking ring investigators dubbed "Operation Family
Affair." Among those defendants were Jean Rish, Rish's 61-year-old mother, and
Anna Nocchi, his 79-year-old grandmother. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Deputy Attorney General Francis Sempa said Anthony Rish was a "mid-level
dealer, but a high-volume dealer" in the ring. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 State police officers Richard Raab and John Saleski assisted Sempa in the
prosecution of Rish.

Freeland Man Will Serve Time For One Of 26 Charges In Drug Case 
In A Plea Agreement, 
Anthony Rish, 41, Was 
Sentenced To More Time In Prison For Dealing Drugs Out Of Nocchi's Bar

Freeland Man Will Serve Time For One Of 26 Charges In Drug Case In A Plea Agreement, Anthony Rish, 41, Was Sentenced To More Time In Prison For Dealing Drugs Out Of Nocchi's Bar