TOP BRASS DRIVE SNAZZY SEIZED VEHICLES

The Tampa Police Department says tooling around in $30,000 vehicles
saves taxpayer money. But other departments question whether it's a
good idea.

TAMPA - Last month Tampa police Chief Bennie Holder drove around town
in a black 2001 Lincoln Navigator, complete with DVD player and video
screen, worth $35,000. Then he switched to a 2001 Chevy Tahoe worth
$38,000.

Maj. Jane Castor drives a 1998 Lincoln Navigator ($35,000). Sgt. Brian
Dugan, a former bodyguard and driver for Mayor Dick Greco, uses a 1999
Ford Expedition ($34,000).

Sgt. Robert Lovering, Holder's assistant, inherited the chief's
Navigator.

As recently as May, the flashy sport-utility vehicle was registered to
Stevie Lykes, a 31-year-old felon arrested in October on charges of
dealing cocaine.

The Tampa Police Department seized the Navigator and all those other
vehicles under Florida's Contraband Forfeiture Act, which allows
authorities to confiscate property used during the commission of a
felony or bought with criminal proceeds.

Records show that TPD currently has 43 seized vehicles in use,
including five Lincoln Navigators, a pair of Ford Expeditions, a BMW
and a Lexus.

"We believe it makes good fiscal sense," Chief Holder said in a
statement, though he declined interview requests. "We're saving
taxpayer dollars. We're taking cars from criminals and using them for
legitimate law enforcement purposes."

Like many departments, Tampa uses several of its most valuable seized
cars in crime prevention programs and in undercover drug operations,
where the job often demands flash.

But unlike most departments, it lets the top brass and others who
rarely work street investigations drive confiscated vehicles.

Department officials say they see no problem with staff using pricey
vehicles that, in some cases, once belonged to drug dealers.

"They could be driving other vehicles at taxpayer cost," Capt. Bob
Guidara said when asked about the practice. "We're probably doing a
little better than most other people."

Which begs the question: Why aren't most other departments doing the
same thing? Is Tampa on the cutting edge, or is the department walking
a fine ethical line few others are willing to tread?

Officials at four other departments contacted for this story - the
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, St. Petersburg Police
Department, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and Miami-Dade Police
Department - declined to comment on Tampa's policy.

But most emphasized that their leaders drive only department-purchased
vehicles.

"The brass doesn't get to pick and choose from seized cars," said
George Kajtsa, St. Petersburg police spokesman. "Otherwise the chief
would be driving the gorgeous Cadillac Escalade that we seized and
auctioned off.

"If I were the police chief and had my choice, I'd drive a fancy
vehicle. But it doesn't work that way."

Ditto for Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice, in office since 1988,
who drives a 2001 Ford Expedition worth less than the Ford Crown
Victorias that his majors drive.

"I'm sure he could choose to (drive a seized vehicle)," Detective Tim
Goodman said. "But whether he would or not, I don't know. I've never
seen him do it."

Hillsborough County Sheriff Cal Henderson, after years of driving
Crown Victorias, moved up to a Chevy Tahoe, much like Holder's. But
the county pays for Henderson's ride.

"He doesn't drive seized vehicles, never has," spokesman Lt. Rod Reder
said of Henderson's decade in office. "More times than not, they'll be
auctioned. You save a few here and there for the undercover folks."

Miami-Dade Police Department Director Carlos Alvarez takes a slightly
different tack. He drives a 2003 BMW 7 Series. The catch: It's a
personal car, and the county gives him a monthly allowance for expenses.

"Our chiefs and brass don't used seized vehicles," said department
spokeswoman Nelda Fonticiella. "We use very few, even for undercover.
We don't know what's been done to those things. Most of the time those
cars are put up for auction."

So what's the big deal about department leaders cruising in snazzy
seized vehicles?

If the state forfeiture law is followed properly, it isn't illegal.
And most experts agree that the practice doesn't amount to a
significant ethical dilemma.

Still, some question its prudence.

"It may not be the best idea. There's a perception problem there,"
said Leonard Territo, a retired University of South Florida
criminology professor. "It's not good (public relations) for the
police chief to be driving around in a top-of-the-line expensive car.
As any type of public official, you have to be careful. Public
perception is very important."

John Kleinig, a professor at the City University of New York who
oversees an institute on criminal justice ethics, agrees that a
chief's public image is important.

"Having a nice car is a status symbol," he said, noting that it
reinforces the hierarchy that exists in police departments. "It raises
an interesting question of whether the department's resources are
being put to the best use."

It might be more prudent from a public relations standpoint not to
have the chief driving around in a fancy confiscated vehicle, Kleinig
said, "but it's hardly a breach of public trust."

Kleinig said the practice becomes serious only if it is a symptom of a
greater ill, such as police seizing property simply because they want
it.

"I'd be more worried if they were moved to confiscate because the car
was a rather nice one that would look good to the chief," he said.

William Doerner, a criminology professor at Florida State University
and a part-time police officer at the Tallahassee Police Department,
takes a less philosophical view on the debate.

"He's a top dog. You've got to have something halfway decent," Doerner
said. "As long as it's not one of these $75,000 Hummers, I don't have
a problem with it."

Tampa police officials say they intend to keep using seized vehicles
as they see fit.

They argue that auctioning the cars would bring only a fraction of
what they are worth. And once the undercover officers have enough
vehicles, they say, it makes perfect sense to spread the wealth.

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio supports the idea.

She says she won't prohibit future department brass from driving the
spoils that once belonged to criminals.

"The city has put them to good use," Iorio said. "Many of them are
quite different than cars we might buy.

"I haven't seen any car that looked out of line to me. I haven't seen
any car that looks ostentatious."

- - Times researchers John Martin and Cathy Wos contributed to this
report