PLATTE COUNTY SHERIFF HIRES LOBBYISTS FOR DRUG MONEY FORFEITURE BILL

Platte County Sheriff Dick Anderson wants to be able to continue seizing
suspected drug money at the Kansas City airport, unfettered by a proposed
state law. Anderson has given a team of lawyers the equivalent of a blank
check to lobby lawmakers for an amendment that would exempt state and local
police from following state forfeiture laws when working at Kansas City
International Airport and Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. But some
legislators fear the amendment could do much more: It could end up
undermining the entire effort to reform forfeiture in Missouri, they say.
So far this session, the amendment has been attached to one of two similar
bills that would close a loophole in state forfeiture law. The bills,
sponsored by Sen. Harry Wiggins and House Speaker Jim Kreider, would
require police to follow state law whenever they seize suspected drug
money. Anderson's amendment would allow officers at the two airports to
follow federal forfeiture laws, which give law enforcement agencies a share
of the money they seize.

Money forfeited under state law must go to public education -- law
enforcement doesn't get to keep any because of concerns about a conflict of
interest. Anderson said in an interview last week that his main problem
with Wiggins' and Kreider's bills was that they would hamper detectives
investigating drugs as part of federal task forces at the airport. "We need
to have one set of rules to follow," he said. Law enforcement officers can
confiscate cash and property at airports or anywhere else if they suspect
it is involved in drug crimes. Platte County sheriff's detectives generate
more than $100,000 a year for the department by seizing cash at the
airport, turning it over to the federal government and receiving up to 80
percent back. Even though Anderson said the money was not the central issue
surrounding his amendment, he said he would not voluntarily give it to the
education fund. Only if "the Missouri legislature said I had to do it,"
Anderson said. Wiggins, a Kansas City Democrat; Kreider, a Nixa Democrat;
and others said they oppose Anderson's amendment because it would create
another loophole -- one that eventually could grow until it takes in law
enforcement agencies across the state.

They would only need to declare themselves part of a federal task force to
be exempted from state law, they said. "It is just opening a crack," Sen.
Larry Rohrbach, a California Republican, said of the amendment. "But, you
know, stuff runs out of cracks." In addition, several legislators said they
found Anderson's lobbying to be highly unusual.

Rohrbach likened the team to "a full court press." Kreider added that
smaller government entities such as sheriff's offices seldom mounted their
own lobbying efforts with such high-profile players. Anderson, who himself
is a registered lobbyist, is using Terry Brady as lead attorney at $195 an
hour. Brady, of the Lathrop & Gage law firm in Kansas City, also is the
Bistate Commission attorney.

He previously has done legal work for the sheriff. Anderson said three
other Lathrop & Gage lawyers were part of the team: Bert Bates at $175 an
hour; R. Kent Sellers, $180; and Jeff LeRiche, $130. Bates is a former
president of the Missouri Bar and the University of Missouri Board of
Curators. Brady and Bates are registered lobbyists. Platte County already
retains two other law firms for general legal work at rates of $120 and
$125 an hour. But Anderson said he chose Lathrop & Gage lawyers instead for
their lobbying expertise. (The Kansas City Star also is a client of Lathrop
& Gage.) So far, how much county money has been spent since January remains
a mystery, even to Anderson and Brady. Neither could say how many hours of
work the lawyers already had performed or how large a bill Platte County
had run up. Anderson said he had not set a limit on the cost or made an
estimate. In addition, Anderson has hired lobbyist Dick Doherty, whose
clients include American Century, the Royals, the Chiefs, and Lathrop &
Gage. Neither Anderson nor Brady, who urged Doherty's hiring, could say how
much Doherty charged or even whether he charged by the hour. Brady said,
though, that Doherty assured him he would give the sheriff a good deal
because he would be lobbying for a government agency. Doherty did not
return calls for comment. A Missouri auditor's spokesman criticized the
sheriff for not knowing how much money he was spending on lobbying. "This
is troubling," Glenn Campbell said. "These are public monies. It is the
kind of thing that if it was occurring in any of the counties we audit, we
would have a serious problem...and ask that the practice be discontinued."
Platte County Auditor Sandra Thomas, responsible for auditing the sheriff's
office, would not comment because of the political nature of the situation.
Campbell described her silence as "unfortunate." Betty Knight, Platte
County's presiding commissioner, did not return telephone calls last week.
However, in the past Knight has refused to comment about Anderson's
lobbying because she feared the county would be sued about how the
sheriff's office had been handling seized drug money. Commissioner Michael
Short said he didn't want to talk about the sheriff's spending habits.

Normally, he said, the County Commission holds public discussions before
spending public money, but this issue has never come up. Commissioners also
have decided in the past against hiring lobbyists, he said. Commissioner
Steve Wegner, who was elected to the commission in November, said he was
unaware of the issue and asked for time to look into the matter.