4 SUE MELTON, MBN AGENT OVER PLANE-TRANSFER MEMO

MERIDIAN (AP)- The director of the Mississippi Narcotics Bureau and one of
his agents are named in a lawsuit related to the investigation of the
transfer of two agency airplanes.

MBN director Frank Melton of Jackson and MBN agent Warren Buchanan of
Meridian were named as defendants in the suit filed by Earl Pierce, Jimmy
Saxton, Bill Taylor and Ronald Pitts. The complaint represents one side of
a legal argument.

The plaintiffs allege Melton released the MBN memo to the media knowing it
contained unfounded, uncorroborated and false information.

The lawsuit was filed recently in Lauderdale County Circuit Court in
Meridian. Melton could not be reached for comment.

The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.

The internal memo summarized MBN investigator Roy Sandefer's interviews
with people believed to be knowledgeable of details in the 1999 transfer of
a Beechcraft King Air to the Harrison County Sheriff's Department and the
2000 transfer of a Cessna 206 to the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission.

The memo said the planes' transfers were facilitated by Pierce, a former
employee of MBN who became head of the Mississippi Air National Guard's
186th Air Refueling Wing's counter-drug unit, which is based in Meridian.
Pierce now heads the Mississippi National Guard's federal counter-drug
programs.

The memo alleged the aircraft were transferred at the request of a former
aide to U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss. The planes were kept at Key Field in
Meridian.

The state auditor's office is looking into the allegations.

The lawsuit alleges Melton acted beyond the scope of his authority as MBN
director for his own personal reasons to settle a personal vendetta against
the plaintiffs. The lawsuit claims that Buchanan intentionally fabricated
the allegations contained in the internal memo to embarrass and damage the
reputations of the plaintiffs.

Melton has said he does not believe Lott violated any laws.

The MBN probe was sparked by an investigation into corruption allegations
at the 186th. A U.S. Air Force Inspector General's report resulted in the
February termination of the wing's commander, Lt. Col. David Weaver.

A new investigation into the 186th is under way, headed by an Air Guard
staff advocate general based in Jacksonville, Fla.

The MBN's internal investigation also claimed that several individuals
fraudulently applied for overtime. They turned in reports, signed by
Saxton, an MBN official, that said they were flying over Mississippi in
December and January looking for marijuana. Marijuana plants don't grow in
December and January, the report said, quoting the confidential source.

The report also said Saxton promoted a civilian employee in exchange for
helicopter flight lessons and allowed thousands of dollars in bureau money
to be spent on personal items for employees, including leather jackets,
tools, boots and sunglasses.

"I did not have authority to do the things I've been accused of and have
been cleared of the allegation regarding fraudulent overtime by the state
auditor's office last year," Saxton told The Associated Press earlier this
week.