NARCOTICS UNIT LIKELY TO BE AUDITED

$60,000 Contract For Investigation Is Up For Approval

In the wake of a scandal that led to indictments against two county police
narcotics detectives, the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Narcotics Unit
is expected to be the subject of an extensive independent audit.

A $60,000 contract between the Jefferson County Police Department and the
Police Executive Research Forum is up for approval by Fiscal Court
tomorrow. County Police Chief William Carcara said the audit could begin
next month if the court approves the agreement.

According to the proposed eight-page contract, auditors -- to include
nationally known experts -- will review the unit's operations, learn how
the system was allegedly exploited and recommend changes. The money to pay
for the audit will come from the Metro Narcotics Unit budget, Carcara said.

"I told them (the forum) I don't want a fluff report," Carcara said. "If we
have a problem, I want it fixed. If we can do something better, we're going
to do it."

After the indictments of former detectives Mark Watson and Christie
Richardson -- each charged with more than 450 counts -- Carcara said the
department would be taking a critical look at Metro Narcotics' operations.
Watson and Richardson, partners in the unit, are accused of fabricating
information to obtain search warrants, tampering with drug evidence and
forging judges' signatures.

Carcara said he expects the forum, a nonprofit organization based in
Washington, D.C., to be brutally honest in its assessment of Metro Narcotics.

"They don't have any dog in the fight, no hidden agendas, no turf to
protect, no concern of hurting anyone's feelings," Carcara said.

The city-county unit is currently under the county's command. Under the
system of rotating leadership, the city will take command of the unit in
January 2003.

The audit will review all written policies, rules and procedures of Metro
Narcotics, according to the contract. Auditors also will examine procedures
used to collect, process and store evidence.

Also under review will be the systems for conducting spot audits of the
drug repositories and storage areas for both quality and quantity of
exhibits against records at the time of seizure, the agreement says.

Auditors will examine the system of recruiting and certifying informants
and the role supervisors play in managing informants. Watson and Richardson
are accused of making up informants and pocketing informant pay,
authorities have said.

Procedures for managing cases and monitoring of investigations also will be
under the microscope. Investigators have said that Watson and Richardson
conducted an elaborate scheme that supervisors uncovered only after looking
into Watson's court-pay records.

Auditors are expected to interview people to determine what checks and
balances are used, the agreement said.

The auditors include:

* Michael D. Schrunk, the elected district attorney in Multnomah County,
Ore., since 1981. Schrunk is chairman of a regional organized-crime
narcotics task force and has served as a lecturer for the Drug Enforcement
Administration.

* Ronald Goldstock, the longtime head of the New York State Organized Crime
Task Force. He is on the faculty of Columbia Law School and of the New York
University Law School and the subjects of his extensive writings include
official corruption and organized crime.

* Drew Diamond, the forum's deputy director and former chief of police in
Tulsa, Okla. Diamond leads the forum's problem-solving assessment and
intervention services for police agencies with serious internal problems.

* Clifford Karchmer, director of program development at the forum.

* Robert Lunney, project manager and on-site coordinator of the Jefferson
County audit. Lunney is a consultant in the police and public-safety field.

* Craig Fraser, head of the forum's management services, will be project
director. Fraser has led several management studies and performance audits
of police agencies. Others will serve as on-site interviewers and
investigators, gathering data and information.