911 operator fired for tipping off drug dealer

A 911 dispatcher in Snydersville, Pennsylvania faces possible charges of tampering with an investigation, after allegedly tipping off a suspected drug dealer about a planned undercover buy.

James Kubanik allegedly used a cellphone in March to call the suspect, after he took a phone call from a police officer seeking information about drug dealer Joseph Reina of East Stroudsburg, targeted in an undercover investigation. The suspected dealer is a friend of Kubanik, who apparently did not want him to get in trouble. Kubinak told police he called Reina twice from his cellphone while on duty at the 911 center.

Kubanik is free on his own recognizance, pending arraignment. He was fired from his 911 job. (info from Pocono News & Blue Ridge Communications)