CORRUPTION TRIAL PROBES POLICE PROCEDURE

The federal case against two top aides and friends of Ramsey County
Sheriff Bob Fletcher will enter its second week today with more
testimony about how the investigation unfolded.

Inside details of the investigation emerged Friday when a witness, FBI
Special Agent Timothy Bisswurm, revealed that it began in spring of
2004 when he first spoke with Shawn Arvin of St. Paul, a former drug
dealer who was working with the DEA to reduce a potential 17-year
prison sentence.

In early November, Bisswurm used Arvin to set up the first "integrity
check" designed to see whether St. Paul police officer Timothy Rehak
would act lawfully when presented with money or valuables.

A federal indictment alleges Rehak, in concert with Mark Naylon, the
spokesman for the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office, broke the law. Both
men were working for Fletcher's Special Investigations Unit, although
Naylon was not a peace officer. He was, however, the best man at
Fletcher's second wedding.

Bisswurm last week introduced into evidence numerous recorded
profanity-laden phone conversations between Arvin and Rehak, including
the one in which Arvin set up the first "integrity check."

The FBI had left $13,500 cash at the Kelly Inn. Naylon and Rehak are
seen on an FBI videotape pocketing $6,000 during a search warrant
executed in the room rented at the Kelly Inn by the fictional Vincent
Pellagatti, a supposed drug dealer. The defendants do not dispute they
took the money. But their lawyers say the action was a practical joke
on a third officer involved in the search.

The officers left a search warrant receipt in the room saying they
recovered $7,500 from the search.

Later that night after being unable to locate the alleged drug dealer
in state or national criminal databases, Naylon and Rehak called the
third officer and told him they had found an additional $6,000 in the
room.

That officer, Ramsey County Sgt. Rollie Martinez, testified he didn't
press for details because he didn't believe they would give him the
truth about where they found the money. He also said Naylon "made it
perfectly clear he doesn't respond to anyone but his boss."

Agents went ahead with a second integrity check in the summer because
of frequent contact between Rehak and Arvin.

On Thursday, the jury saw a 70-minute recording with video and
profanity-filled audio of the two defendants searching a vehicle in
July 2005, finding a stash of cash and making reference to another
"set up."

Throughout the first week, prosecutors tried to show how the men
breached law enforcement protocol in taking the $6,000 of alleged drug
money. The defense tried to paint Rehak as a tough street cop who
wasn't savvy about paperwork and was working for a sheriff's
department with a reputation for playing "loose" with the rules.

Several officers took the stand to talk about the importance of proper
procedure and accuracy, including Christopher Hoskin, a longtime St.
Paul police officer who retired a couple of years ago as senior
commander to Chief John Harrington. He was questioned about how
officers handle seized property.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marti asked whether it was appropriate
for seized property to be handed over to a non-peace officer until it
is logged into evidence. Hoskin said no.

The point may be significant because Naylon was not a peace officer.
Rehak is shown in the November video handing the cash to him and
Naylon is seen stuffing it deep into his jacket pocket.

On cross examination, Rehak's lawyer Paul Engh asked about his
client's reputation as a cop with history and connections on the
rugged East Side. He elicited that Rehak went to work for the Ramsey
County unit at the behest of Fletcher but continued to be employed by
the St. Paul Police Department.

"You knew Ramsey County was loose in procedures?" Engh asked,
referring to a comment Hoskin made to the FBI in May 2008.

Hoskin said, "That is an opinion I had."

Asked about the claim of loose procedures, Fletcher's spokeswoman
Holli Drinkwine said: "It would be inappropriate to comment in the
midst of a trial."