A Magistrate called a man who admitted supplying crack the "scourge of the earth'' before sentencing him to three years in prison.

Acting Senior Magistrate Cheryl-Ann Mapp made the statement before sentencing John Edness, 32, of Tribe Road, Warwick, on two charges of supplying crack to an undercover US Drug Enforcement Agency officer.

Adding that she did not want her remark to be misunderstood, Mrs. Mapp explained her comment further.

"A drug dealer is the scourge of the earth...I say that you are dealing death...,'' she said.

Mrs. Mapp added that Edness did not care about the lives he ruined. "You are just in it for the money that is the bottom line,'' she said. "You are not there when their families have to deal with them and you are not there when the courts have to deal with them. They are diseased and you are spreading the disease.. .'' Edness was arrested on June 5, along with 15 other men picked up in Operation Cleansweep -- a massive undercover drug sting carried out by the Bermuda Police Service, the DEA, and a Scotland Yard detective.

He originally pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea last week in Magistrates' Court.

Crown counsel Nita Grewal yesterday told the court Edness approached the DEA agent at 1.48 p.m. on April 25 in Ord Road and sold him .58 grams of crack, valued at $100. And on May 1 at 4.07 p.m. in Ord Road, Edness again approached an undercover DEA agent and sold him .33 grams of crack cocaine valued at $50.

Ms Grewal said Edness was arrested on June 5 on Ord Road and taken to his home which was searched. He was then taken to Hamilton Police Station where he was shown a videotape of the drug transactions.

Ms Grewal reminded Mrs. Mapp that the maximum punishment for such a crime was five years in prison and/or a fine of $10,000. She added that crack was the most dangerous and addictive form of cocaine.

"Street dealing clearly destroys the neighbourhoods it takes place in,'' she said. "People can't feel safe.'' She added the only reason men like Edness sold drugs was "monetary greed'' and that a case of this type would require an immediate custodial sentence.

However, Edness' lawyer, Elizabeth Christopher, asked that he be sentenced to two years in prison on each count and that the sentences run concurrently.

She said Edness felt remorse for his crime and that he was coming to terms with the changes he would have to make in his life. "He does work part-time as a trucker with his cousin...,'' Ms Christopher noted. "He has cut his dreads and I have no doubt he will be released as a productive member of society.'' She also denied that Edness approached the DEA agent, claiming he was "targeted and approached''.

However, Mrs. Mapp said she did not care who approached who. "If Mr. Edness did not have consumables for sale, he would not be here in this predicament,'' she said. "I show him no mercy.'' Edness, reading from a statement he prepared, apologised to the court, Bermuda, and his family.

"I have no one to blame but myself,'' he added, "for every man is accountable for his own actions...I'm sorry I had to realise this through such circumstances ...'' Edness further stated that the past two months he has spent in remand at Westgate Correctional Facility had opened his eyes and he saw what was really at stake was his kids and his freedom.

"Big plans with my son on his return home this summer were shattered,'' he told Mrs. Mapp. "When I saw how deep he was hurting, it hurt me even more. He cut my picture from the newspaper and would not let anyone take it from him.

He stopped eating for a spell...'' Edness said he had not seen his daughter because he did want her to visit him "while behind a glass partition'' for fear of how she would react to such a situation.

He further added: "When this is all said and done (time served), it won't end there. This is something that will be thrown in my face. I will always be remembered as the guy who committed that crime...''.'' Edness stressed that he was wrong and had learned his lesson. He begged forgiveness, adding he missed his family and children. However, Mrs. Mapp remained unmoved.

"The two people most affected are your children,'' she told Edness. "Your son can no longer hold you up as a role model.

"I question your sincerity, you don't care about the next person or your children. If you did, you would care about the community they lived in.

"The community is tired of the crime drugs is generating. Ord Road in particular is an area people want to avoid because of people like you. We all have individual struggles, but not everyone takes the easy way out.'' Mrs. Mapp noted this was not the first time Edness had been before the court for similar offences.

"This is nothing new,'' she said. "You have been involved with drugs since 1989 when you were first before the court. And you came back two months before and you were fined (for possession of crack). To fine a drug dealer is a slap on the wrist.'' Before sentencing Edness, who at this point was holding his head down, Mrs.

Mapp asked him if he had anything further to say to which he answered no.

Mrs. Mapp then sentenced Edness to three years on each of the two counts of supplying crack. The sentences are to run concurrently with the time he has spent in custody to be taken into consideration. "You're wasting your life and destroying the lives of your family and your children,'' she said.