Woman busted in drugs-in-bra caper

By MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon

September 13, 2008 01:28 am

— CONNEAUT — An Austinburg woman reportedly used her underwear to try to smuggle drugs to a Lake Erie Correctional Institution inmate earlier this week, authorities said.
Patricia Pulsifer, 40, 2051 Dadeyville Road, reportedly put marijuana inside three deflated balloons she then hid in her bra, police said. She was intercepted inside the Lake Erie Correctional Institution before she could pass along the secret cargo, officials said.
She has been charged with illegal conveyance of prohibited items, a third-degree felony, and possession of criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony, a court spokeswoman said. The balloons reportedly are the tools in question, officials said.
An initial appearance on the charges will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Conneaut Municipal Court, a court spokeswoman said.
Conneaut police were contacted early Wednesday afternoon by an LaECI investigator who believed a drug-smuggling attempt was planned sometime that day. Inmate telephone conversations, monitored by staff, aroused suspicions, police said.
Detective Michael Colby and his canine partner Nik went to the prison, where the dog conducted a sniff test of Pulsifer’s vehicle. Nik reacted to the vehicle, police said.
At the same time, prison staff confronted Pulsifer inside the prison about the telephone call, officers said. During the interview, staff learned she was carrying the drug-filled balloons, police said.