The spoils of (drug) war

By Kathryn Skelton , Staff Writer
Sunday, August 24, 2008



On lots of 'Bzzt, ahhh! Bzzzt, ahhh!' (sound of someone being zapped by Taser) and plenty of 'Woof. Woof. Woof.'

Last year, when Scarborough police pulled over a suspected drunk driver, they found marijuana and a duffle bag with almost $32,000 in his trunk. The money's origins were murky. Because a Lewiston officer is on a federal drug task force and that task force helped investigate that case, Lewiston got a cut of the trunk money.

When Paris police last fall helped bust an organic farmer with a pot crop, drug agents chopped down 82 plants and seized his ATV. After twice being rejected for federal grants to buy one, suddenly, the Paris department had its first four-wheeler. Last week the machine came out of the shop after a once-over.

Auburn police are in the final stages of making a 1999 Cadillac Escalade their own. Once that's official, the SUV will be painted police colors and driven by the Auburn school resource officer.

"We'll have the message on there: 'This car was seized from a drug dealer,'" said Deputy Chief Jason Moen.

Over the last five years, police in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties have banked more than $453,000 in money and property seized in drug-related crimes, according to records obtained through a Freedom of Access Act request. Departments have bought 47 Tasers, 20 computers, three drug dogs - Yurri, Inka and Beny - badges, training courses and even tapped it for cash to flash during undercover buys.

Lewiston police, who have by far seized and spent the most, took in $44,767 from a single case. It stemmed from another traffic stop, this time in Saco, and again, one of the local officers on the federal task force helped investigate.

That stop led to the discovery of $300,000 in cocaine proceeds hidden in the wall of a house. The Lewiston Police Department used its share of the money in February 2005 to buy Yurri, a Belgian malinois.

"He's new; he's done well," said Chief William Welch, who has no qualms about using drug dealers' money against them. "They ought to be helping us pay to bust them."

Do's and don'ts

No one collects police seizure data for the whole state, according to Roy McKinney, director of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. His agency's forfeiture funds amounted to $472,334 last year.

When local departments participate in state or federal busts - drug-related or not - they're often assigned a percentage of the money, vehicles or guns involved. When it's the MDEA, the Maine Attorney General's Office makes the cuts and the courts OK the amount. McKinney said the agency always shares with other departments more than it keeps.

When it's the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, anything under $1 million is split using factors like who brought the case and how much manpower each agency chipped in, according to a spokesman. Since October, $450,320 has been seized by the federal DEA in Maine.

Departments can keep the entire forfeiture if they conduct the bust without outside help. In drug cases, drugs are confiscated and destroyed, property and real estate can be seized if police prove it was purchased with funds from a drug sale and vehicles can be seized if they were involved in the transport of drugs.


"Which is why you're seeing now drug dealers are using rental cars," said Lewiston Lt. Michael McGonagle.

Once departments have the seized money, there are rules on how it can and can't be spent. Usually there has to be a tie to drug enforcement, and no using it to pay for already-budgeted items.

"We replace six to seven cruisers a year. I couldn't go to the City Council and say, 'I'm going to buy three with drug money,'" Welch said.

Up to 88 percent of his department budget is spent on personnel costs, he said. Commanders get together annually to talk about where to spend the rest, the absolute necessities, and what can come out of the forfeiture account.

In April 2007, Lewiston bought 20 Tasers, its first, with drug money.

A month later, Auburn used drug money to buy 10 Tasers. It would have been difficult to find the money otherwise, Moen said.

"Tasers are a great tool for us. Nine times out of 10, if they get to the point where the officer brings it out, (people facing arrest) say, 'I've heard about these. I want nothing to do with it.' They become very compliant," Moen said. Nonetheless, "(Buying them with taxpayer money) is not going to survive the budget review process."

Jay police took a tip in 2005 that led to their single forfeiture in five years. Police and MDEA agents raiding a local home found money, marijuana, pipes and a book called the "Marijuana Growers Guide." The search led to another $19,500 in a safe deposit box.

After the case went through the courts, Jay got $4,500.

The money was spent on a long rifle, ammo, a digital recorder for the interview room and a label maker for evidence, a big bonus for that small department's budget.

"We get involved often with drug arrests. We don't come by money often, unfortunately," said Chief Larry White.

Harleys, computers, pups

The Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office used seized funds to buy six computers and a camera. Mechanic Falls police bought six digital voice recorders so each officer could carry one in his pocket. Rumford police bought 12 portable radios, throat mics, two Tasers and tactical vests. Livermore Falls bought two Tasers, DARE T-shirts and noshes for a dispatcher's retirement party.

Among their purchases, Paris police bought an in-cruiser video system. In eight cases over five years, that department seized more than $17,000, 23 guns (they're turned around and sold) and one ATV. The last stemmed from an MDEA case in August 2007 when the spotter in a helicopter flying near Streaked Mountain saw a crop on the ground.

"(The owner) acknowledged it was on his property, but being cultivated by friends who he did not want to identify," said Gerry Baril, head of the Lewiston MDEA office. The yellow Bombardier ATV was being used to check the crop, so it was seized. The machine and its trailer were valued at around $8,000.

"We never have any funds to purchase something like that," said Chief David Verrier.

The department spent $300 to fix and check it over. His officers will use the ATV to help injured and lost hikers, patrol Oxford Plains Speedway during busy race weekends and also look for more growers.

Verrier's considering another purchase with forfeiture funds: "We haven't upgraded our on-duty weapons in the last six years and these are starting to get old."

The Oxford County Sheriff's Office took in $50,376 from a single case in 2006, working with the Cumberland County Sheriff to break up a major indoor hydroponic marijuana growing operation in Brownfield and Standish.

More than $600,000 in equipment, property and real estate was seized in all.

Oxford Sheriff Wayne Gallant said he's used the forfeiture account to outfit officers and corrections officials with Tasers and finish equipping police cruisers with Wi-Fi and laptops.

"Money like that saves us from going through a three- to five-year plan," he said.

Since 2003, Lewiston police have taken in more than $243,000. One reason behind so much drug forfeiture activity: two officers being on the federal drug task force and two on the state. Each successful case they're involved with, anywhere, means a portion for the home department. (In the case of the officers working with the feds, it also helps reimburse the city for those salaries.)

In the Scarborough case, Lewiston got 8 percent of the Rhode Island man's trunk money, or about $2,500.

Its largest buy with drug funds: a pair of Harleys for $34,000 last summer. The department had leased motorcycles in the past. With the money available, it made more sense to own, Welch said.

The Auburn department has two officers with the MDEA task force. It used drug money to launch a K-9 program last year. Funds cover food, vet bills and even dog collar badges for Inka and Beny, both German shepherds.

Beny is already patrol and narcotics certified, while "she's going to be going to narcotics detection school in September," Moen said. "They're a big hit with kids. Both officers go to demonstrations, local schools, day cares."

Before the department got the pair, "We were constantly calling for Lewiston to help us, or the sheriff or the State Police, who did a great job," he said. But there was often a wait. "Sometimes it could be up to 45 minutes, depending on the agency that was coming."

Part of the reason they hadn't tried a dog program before was cost. It's a sound investment if the experience across the river is anything. Duke, one of Lewiston's first drug dogs, sniffed out $300,000 worth of drugs in his five-year career.


http://www.sunjournal.com/story/279937-3/MaineNews/The_spoils_of_drug_war/