NO DISCIPLINE FOR COPS WHO GOT MERCEDES

Another internal police probe, another bunch of cleared officers.

But this wasn't just any case.

Milwaukee cops came under fire early this year after being accused of
reaching an agreement under which a drug-addicted local businessman,
Jordan Beck, escaped prosecution for cocaine possession by agreeing
to turn over his Mercedes to the department.

Beck later died from an overdose.

Then-District Attorney E. Michael McCann was so upset by the case
that he wrote a lengthy letter last year to the police chief,
decrying the deal. "I'm sure you reject such a program, and I reject
it, and it clearly is loaded with the invidious perception that a
rich person driving a fine car would escape prosecution," wrote
McCann, long an ally of police, in one of his last acts as district
attorney. He urged the chief to return the car.

But the case quickly faded from the headlines.

Milwaukee police opened an internal investigation in January. Months
followed without Beck's family hearing anything. In the meantime, the
Mercedes-Benz SL55, valued at about $100,000, was sold in summer to
someone in Illinois.

Then, not long ago, the Beck family's attorney received notice of the
results of the internal probe.

"Careful examination and evaluation of the information obtained
pursuant to this investigation neither proves nor disproves the
allegation," said the letter written by then-Chief Nannette Hegerty
and Deputy Inspector Mary Hoerig, then the head of internal affairs.
"However, if new information is brought to light, an additional
investigation may be conducted.

"You may be assured that we desire to provide the best possible
police service and are appreciative when citizens bring matters of
this nature to our attention."

To translate: Unless you can tell us something new, case closed -
with no disciplinary action.

Same old, same old.

Not surprisingly, Beck's family is angry.

Jordan Beck's sister, Joanne, who now runs her brother's scrap metal
business, Mill Valley Recycling, said she believes he would be alive
today had he been charged just like anybody else. She said the police
brass is trying to sweep an unpleasant incident under the rug.

"I wasn't actually surprised," Joanne Beck said of the MPD letter.
"Not at all."

Her lawyer, Michael Maistelman, said he might call for someone like
the district attorney or U.S. attorney to look into the case.

"With a new police chief, this is the right time to ask for an
independent investigation," Maistelman said. "The only entity that
has done anything about this has been the DA's office."

Beck was arrested in June 2005 on suspicion of possessing cocaine.
According to McCann's detailed account of the matter, Beck was a drug
user who agreed to cooperate with police by testifying against his
dealer. The department seized Beck's Mercedes under what McCann
called a "creative interpretation" of the law - a reading of the
statute that he said "cannot stand up" in court.

Beck and his criminal defense lawyer cut a deal with the cops, who
are not identified, to allow the department to keep the car if he was
not charged and his wife's attorney wasn't informed of Beck's drug
involvement, according to McCann's letter. The 42-year-old
businessman and his wife were divorcing at the time.

Records show Beck was arrested by Officer Bodo Gajevic. Lt. Robert
Stetler received the July 2005 letter from Beck's lawyer that
summarized the bargain on the Mercedes.

McCann could not be reached for comment Friday.

But Hoerig dismissed the charge that the matter was being swept away.

"That is not the case," said Hoerig, who was recently moved from the
professional performance division to another top post. "Everything
that comes through PPD is investigated. I know that's hard for people
to believe, but it is investigated. And that, obviously, was high
profile. That definitely was investigated."

She said she didn't recall the exact wording of the letter to Beck's
family lawyer, but when it was read to her, she said the department
concluded that the allegations were "not sustained." That means, she
said, there was no concrete evidence to say that something improper occurred.

Pressed for details on the Beck probe, Hoerig declined to comment further.

"I really shouldn't comment on internal cases," she said. "That's
always been my philosophy because, otherwise, I don't think that's
fair to the department nor to the community if I talk about it."

And by keeping her lips zipped on this case, the department sends a
clear signal to everyone:

You've simply got to trust that Milwaukee cops are doing a good job
policing their own.