
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 29, 1990                   TAG: 9004300232
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: F-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

CRACK DEALER/ MAKING A KILLING IN ROANOKE

TED DELINOIS is the kind of young entrepreneur a chamber of commerce could love. At 19, he stepped off a bus in Roanoke with nothing more than a few items to sell and ingenuity. He found a demand for his wares, and moved quickly to meet it.

Within a year, this young man was directing 15 people in a major enterprise. He was so successful that he was driving flashy cars with cellular telephones and traveling frequently to New York and Miami.

There was a catch, though. Ted Delinois dealt in the destruction of lives: His product was crack cocaine. This young man has made his mark by getting a serious crack problem started in Roanoke.

The crack business eventually turned on Delinois, just as the drug always turns on its users. It took him to exciting heights, then dropped him lower than he'd ever been. Instead of the chamber of commerce rolls, Delinois will be a regular on the prison roster in years to come. He deserves every minute of his imprisonment.

A young man such as Delinois who is smart, energetic and ambitious has much to contribute to society. His talents would have been an asset for a legitimate business endeavor. Instead, they became a big liability for Roanoke.

by CNB