DRUG MONEY SEIZURE RECORDS DEMANDED

Federal authorities have subpoenaed records related to the Passaic County
Sheriff's Department unit that seized almost $30 million in drug money in
less than three years, acting Sheriff Ronald S. Fava confirmed Wednesday.

The subpoena delivered to the department last month seeks documents on all
cash seizures of more than $1,000 dating from the beginning of 1997 through
the end of last year.

Those were the last three years of former Republican Sheriff Edwin J.
Englehardt's 27-year tenure, which has come under substantial federal
scrutiny in recent years. Englehardt retired in May and appointed Fava, a
Republican and the former county prosecutor, to serve the remainder of his
term.

Heading the task force itself for most of that period was Jerry Speziale,
who will run against Fava as a Democrat in the November sheriff election.
Now a ranking officer in the Bergen County Sheriff's Department, Speziale
joined the Passaic County force in August 1997 and left in April 2000.

"What we're dealing with here is the money-laundering unit, which Mr.
Speziale was in charge of," Fava said.

Speziale contended Wednesday that the U.S. Attorney's Office is concerned
not with how the money was seized, which was his responsibility, but how it
was spent, which was guided by Englehardt and other administrators.

When asked how he would know that, Speziale said only, "I know it."

"I had no role in the expenditures," Speziale added. "I worked hard and
made sure there were checks and balances."

Federal guidelines restrict the use of cash forfeitures to further spending
on drug and money-laundering investigations, or to purchases of police
equipment not included in a department's budget.

Englehardt hired Speziale shortly after his retirement from the New York
Police Department to form a narcotics and money-laundering unit.

"I told them how fruitful it could be, bringing millions of dollars in drug
money to Passaic County, and how it could be used to subsidize equipment
and other things," Speziale said.

In testimony before a congressional subcommittee on money laundering last
year, Speziale said his unit teamed up with local, state, and federal
authorities -- as well as a similar task force in South Florida. The latter
program was highly successful but also controversial for its aggressive
pursuit of illegal cash.

Speziale testified that the unit seized bulk cash from drug sales in
transit between South America, Florida, New Jersey, and New York, including
a $1 million haul seized in Hudson County by sheriff's officers cooperating
with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

He said Wednesday that the unit's constant cooperation with federal
authorities precluded any improprieties on the enforcement aspects of the
task force.

Last month's subpoena was the latest in a series seeking information about
a wide range of department operations under Englehardt. The former sheriff
has not been charged with wrongdoing.