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Gold Hill supervisor jailed in old drug case Gasso�s been gone a month, and city just found out why By Jessica Smith The superintendent of Gold Hill�s public works department is in federal custody, a month after being arrested in connection with a 16-year-old heroin charge. Royal Gasso, hired by the city three years ago, was arrested June 21 for violating the terms of his probation stemming from a 1984 heroin conviction. Although he�s been missing from work for more than a month, city officials said they were unaware that Gasso had been arrested or incarcerated. Why didn�t they know? "That�s a good question," Mayor Tim Roddam said Tuesday. "I�m quite surprised. I had no idea there was any problem of this nature in his absence." On June 23, Gasso submitted a letter to the Gold Hill City Council requesting "personal emergency leave for a situation that has arisen suddenly." By that time, Gasso, 48, of Grants Pass, had spent two days in the Jackson County Jail. According to a Medford FBI official, agents arrested Gasso when they went to his home to interview him about a March bust of an alleged drug-trafficking ring that supplied the area with methamphetamine and heroin. Citing the ongoing investigation, an FBI agent declined to discuss whether Gasso was involved in the drug ring. But federal records show that in December 1984 Gasso was sentenced to six years in a federal penitentiary after he was convicted in New York for possession with the intent to distribute heroin. Additional details on the original case were not available Tuesday. Federal prison records show that Gasso was released on parole in June 1988, only to be re-incarcerated for a parole violation in February 1989. He was freed in December 1989 but sent back to prison in September 1992 after he violated the terms of a 10-year probation sentence. Gasso was released in January 1994 with more than eight years left on the probation sentence. It�s unclear what allegations led to Gasso�s arrest last month. Officials at the U.S. Probation Office in Medford and Portland deferred comment to the national headquarters in Maryland. No one could be reached there for comment. On July 12, Gasso was transferred to the detention center at the Federal Corrections Institute in Sheridan, where he awaits a hearing before the U.S. Parole Commission. A hearing date has not been set. Meanwhile, city leaders in Gold Hill have been waiting to hear from Gasso. In his June 23 letter to the council, Gasso said he would notify the city as soon as possible. Roddam said the City Council will have to decide whether it will retain Gasso as public works superintendent or find a replacement. Gasso�s work is being shared by the department�s two other employees. The City Council hired Gasso in August 1997. His employment application filed with the city recorder�s office shows that Gasso answered truthfully when asked if he had been convicted of a crime within the past seven years. His conviction was 12 years prior. Illegal drug use in the public works department has been an issue in Gold Hill before. The former superintendent, Jon Nutter, and a subordinate refused to take a drug test in May 1996; the subordinate was placed on administrative leave, but it�s not clear what happened to Nutter. Nutter died a year later. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA