Undercover and out of control

SAGLE - A drug-free work environment had a whole different meaning for former undercover narcotics strike force agent and current Sagle resident Neil Tietjen.

Tietjen wrote "Old School Narc" to tell the story of being undercover from 1972 to 1982 in Arizona. The state's location on the Mexican border gave it the distinction of being the top drug import capital in the United States in the 1970s. Because of this, a hand-picked group of law enforcement officers from different agencies formed the narcotics strike force, the first of its kind in the nation. The goal: Stop the importation, distribution and sales of illegal drugs.

The drugs would come in from air smuggling, horseback and backpack across the border, which was marked with only a barbed wire fence.

"We were designed to go after the engineers," Tietjen said. "We were very successful in achieving those goals."

While undercover, Tietjen said, he had been shot at, scared and was always under stress. He said he had to be extra careful about what he said around people, and basically lived many different lives at the same time.

Tietjen said getting shot at was definitely one of the most dangerous situations he had been in while undercover for more than 15 years. There was a saying in Metro Narcotics, where he started, that his sergeant told him.

"You haven't been indoctrinated into undercover work until you have the first knife stuck in your throat or the first gun stuck in your temple. Now you know what it feels like. Now you start to get your wings," Tietjen said his superior told him. At that point, he knew that what he was doing was dangerous work.

Before joining the police force, he spent time in the military in the 1960s in Long Island, N.Y. Shortly after leaving the Marines, he went to worked for a family member as a "laborer."

After about a year of labor on his body, he knew he needed to change career paths. He saw the traffic officers and crossing guards and thought police work was not for him. But with a starting pay of more than $19.60 per hour in 1968, Tietjen joined a law enforcement class with about 100 positions available of 1,600 applicants.

"Starting pay wasn't bad back then," Tietjen said. "So I figured I was going to try it. It's a lot better than labor."

He was chosen to enter the police department, and moved to Tucson, Ariz., to join the Tucson Police Department. After a few years, he was asked to join the strike force.

Tietjen used many different disguises undercover, mainly to keep from being recognized by someone whom he had arrested at a previous time. He said he was laughed at by a jury once for his appearance - the prosecutor had explained to the jury that Tietjen did not dress normally and that in order to catch a rabbit, you have to look like a carrot. He said people and other officers would often look at him in disgust and he even scared his daughter when she was younger by coming home with a big beard and in disguise.

"I looked pretty shady most of the time," Tietjen said. "If anglo and you went into an all-Mexican or black area, you better look like a badass. You better act like one."

During undercover operations, they had $100,000 in flash money, which is used as a tool to bring the drugs out. This was a large amount for the time, he said. Tietjen said if they were on a drug deal and the dealer wanted to see the money first, it was there for showing.

"To show them we are legitimate buyers," Tietjen said.

They often helped out small towns having drugs problems, by coming in as a fresh face to the town for an undercover sting. He said a local cop would not be a good undercover agent in a small town as everyone would recognize him. They also worked with other agencies for undercover work.

"Our agency was designed to support other agencies with expertise," Tietjen said.

He said stress came with the job. On the work side, the defense attorneys hated the narcotics agents and homicide detectives. And making a drug deal was always stressful, Tietjen said.

"You try to act like nothing is bothering you, but in reality there is a lot bothering you," Tietjen said. "To me, anyone dying over narcotics is not worth it."

But the stress carried over to his personal life as well. Work forced him to miss his 10th and 15th wedding anniversaries to his "saintly wife" BJ. He said he used to have to decompress after coming home, and often BJ would call him out and ask him if he thought he was still on the streets.

BJ said it was difficult knowing her husband was putting his life in danger on a daily basis.

"I am happier now than I have been my entire life," BJ said. "It was a very stressful lot of years."

"Old School Narc" is a historical, true crime novel, that explains the terminology of drugs and the "street language" so readers could feel what Tietjen was going through on a day-to-day basis.

"It might not be proper grammar, but it is how we spoke on the streets back then," Tietjen said.

The book is 62 chapters, and told as individual stories. Tietjen said you can read a chapter at a time or start from the beginning to read the book. He said some are humorous and some chapters are intense. There is some overlap and and some chapters refer to previous ones, he added.

Tietjen said he had no intentions of writing a book, but when his son contacted him to "jot down some stories to preserve it for our family," he started writing and before he knew it, he was at 68 chapters.

"I had too much content for a book," Tietjen laughed.

He said the research was not always easy. He had been the "contact man" for the media during his time on the task force, so he figured finding the information in local newspapers would be simple to corroborate his stories.

"It was like our agency didn't even exist," Tietjen said. "So I wanted to document the history of that time. It was so much different than it is today."

Tietjen retired from law enforcement in 2003. He spent 35 years to earn a 20 year pension because he moved departments several times over the years and the seniority did not transfer. He was undercover about 15 years, nine with the Narcotics Strike Force. He also spent the last five years of his career undercover.

"I didn't learn the first time," Tietjen said, working three years with gangs and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Tietjen and his wife moved to Sagle in 2005 to enjoy the serene beauty of the Pacific Northwest. The couple have been married for more than 50 years, surviving through his undercover work. From Merrick, Long Island, the couple met when he was 15 and she was 13 in the same little town. They have two adult children.

The book is available on Amazon, at Vandeford's Books, and at The Corner Book Store.