Recently Resigned U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld: "No One is Immune" from Drug Epidemic in Area
By Jeff Toquinto on January 28, 2017
For nearly six and a half years William Ihlenfeld served the northern district of West Virginia in his role of United States Attorney. In the last several years of that time, Ihlenfeld became a somewhat common name in news cycles.
Ihlenfeld’s office worked feverishly with local jurisdictions, including Bridgeport and Harrison County, in the ongoing issues involving drugs. From major drug busts that exceeded $1 million to others involving other movers and shakers, if there was drug activity and legal action surrounding it then chances were good you saw Ihlenfeld’s name and even photo on media outlets.![](/Z-Archived-Photos/Notables/Ihlenfeld%20Romano%20Inside.jpg)
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On Dec. 31, it was the last official time you could have witnessed Ihlenfeld’s name in a capacity involving drug activity or any works out of his Wheeling-based office. The well-respected U.S. Attorney officially resigned.
“That was the number one issue that the office addressed during that time on both the criminal and civil side,” said Ihlenfeld. “We worked on a lot of different things from violent crime to white collar offenses to everything in between. The drug threat was the greatest threat we dealt with and continues to be the greatest.”
Ihlenfeld said his work was gratifying. He also had a word of caution for those who somehow believe that they’re immune, for whatever reason, from having the drug epidemic impact them.
“I’ve experience it firsthand many time where people believe this can’t impact them and won’t impact them. No one is immune from it,”
said Ihlenfeld. “I’ve seen people of different socio-economic classes who believe they live in a nice neighborhood that they’re not at risk and more alarmingly they don’t believe their children could be at risk. I believe every child is at risk no matter what kind of home you come from or your household income is. The mindset I found alarming.”
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Ihlenfeld said he’s seen the mentality for a while, but it became more prominent when the U.S. Attorney’s Office began the passing out of drug testing kits at local high school football games. While many took advantage of it, he said when many were approached about the free kits the responses caught him off guard.
“People would tell us they didn’t need it because drugs weren’t a problem in their household or with their children. That was never the reason for the kit because if someone’s a user, it’s too late for one of the key reasons for the kit,” said Ihlenfeld. “A big reason for the kit
was as a deterrent and for a child to say no if facing pressure knowing that there was a kit at home. It was striking, too, that some people didn’t even want to talk about it because they didn’t believe there was any way their child could be pulled in to drugs in any way.”
While Ihlenfeld’s office was tasked with see the adjudication in the drug epidemic gripping his district, he said the problem isn’t going to go away simply by putting people in jail for dealing. He said the problem can be solved, but the answer lies in treating to the user as opposed to putting away the dealers.
“You make an impact when you take down a drug traffic organization as opposed to the conviction of one person in Bridgeport, Clarksburg or Morgantown and you make an impact when you bring a case against a medical professional, which we had our share of,” he said. “The one thing everyone in this battle knows is that when we arrest someone who supplies a huge group of people, there’s a huge group of addicted people, primarily using opioids, who remain addicted.”
What that means, he said, is that those addicted aren’t stopping because their dealer is gone. Instead, they will seek the drug out through an additional dealer and there are many willing to fill that spot of supplier, said Ihlenfeld.
“An addict will do what they can to find drugs to avoid withdrawal and getting sick and they’ll often go to any length to do it,” said Ihlenfeld, who worked with the Harrison County Violent Crimes and Drug Task Force that is chaired by Chief John Walker. “They may rob a home or a gas station, open up a car and take the change in the console; basically anything to meet the craving.”
Ihlenfeld said he left his office spending as much time on enforcement as well as looking at issues with preventions – such as the free drug testing kits. He emphasized that’s the only way to make a long-term impact.
“Solutions with prevention is our greatest weapon and I’ll always say that. When you look at treatment and recovery it can reduce the user population. The more we can pull out of addiction, the less places like Harrison County will be to drug dealers,” said Ihlenfeld. “If there aren’t customers, the dealers are going elsewhere. Ultimately, the community has to reduce its users or the problem remains.”
The problem, Ihlenfeld readily admits is that users, almost exclusively, don’t stop on their own. They have to be taken to recovery and even then not everyone succeeds.
“It’s not easy, but it works for a lot of people. What we know for sure if you go into a recovery program you have a chance to recover. If you don’t go into a recovery program you almost have no chance,” he said. “It’s a simple solution that, ironically, isn’t terribly simple to get to a conclusion with as a user.”
Despite being away from his job for nearly a month now, Ihlenfeld still says he thinks about the work done in the past six-plus years. He also said he’s been keeping rather busy.
“It’s been hectic. There’s been a lot of different things that keep me busy from working on things around the house to transitioning out of a job and getting ready to transition into a new one,” said Ihlenfeld.
Ihlenfeld said he couldn’t just announce what his new career will entail. What he did disclose is that it begins Monday.
“I’m looking forward to the new challenge and opportunity and appreciate the opportunities that I’ve had with my position in the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said Ihlenfeld. “When you leave, you hope you somehow made an impact and made a difference.”
Editor's Note: Top photo shows William Ihlenfeld, right, with Harrison County Prosecuting Attorney, while he's with Bridgeport Police Chief John Walker. Bottom photo shows Ihlenfeld in his earlier days with Walker and former Mayor Jim Christie in the background.
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