3 Sentenced In Undercover Drug Operation  October 13, 1990|by
DEBBIE GARLICKI, The Morning Call  Three men from the Dominican
Republic will be serving three- to six-year sentences and may be
deported for attempting to sell more than a kilo of cocaine to
an undercover Allentown police officer.  Jose Mejia, 40, Rey
Elipidio Tejada, 41, and Raphael Fermin, 51, pleaded no contest
this week in Lehigh County Court to conspiring to deliver 1-1/8
kilos of cocaine with a street value of at least $110,000.  The
three could have faced a mandatory four years in prison, but the
plea agreement with prosecutors called for a minimum three-year
sentence, which was handed down by Judge David E. Mellenberg.
Assistant District Attorney Maria Dantos said she believed the
sentence was sufficient because the men probably will be
deported.  Police said an informant arranged for the undercover
police officer to meet drug dealers March 2 at a Phillipsburg
parking lot.  Police said a blue Cadillac driven by Mejia pulled
into a parking