DRUG FOE IS NEW CHIEF IN PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP

21-Year Florida Cop Worked Undercover In Special Division

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP -- The township's new police chief is ready to return to
Metro Detroit after a 20-year stint chasing Florida drug dealers.

Tom Tiderington replaces former Chief Lawrence Carey. Tiderington, 43,
spent 21 years with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, where he retired
as captain of the Special Investigations Division.

Q. How's it going?

A. "Great. A police chief comes into a department that's all messed up and
there are all kinds of problems, it's easier to see what's wrong and you
know how to make the correct steps. Here, I was pleasantly surprised. This
is a good police department."

Q. You're originally from Detroit. How did you wind up in Florida?

A. "My grandfather and my father were both Detroit cops. I was hired in
Detroit in '78 and two years later was laid off. The department laid off
about 1,500 officers that year. Fort Lauderdale came up and recruited at
the Police Department."

Q. What were some of the most interesting cases you covered?

A. "When I came here to meet with (Plymouth Township Supervisor) Steve
Mann, I saw that the movie Blow was playing at the (local) Penn Theater.
Johnny Depp plays drug dealer George Jung, whom I arrested in 1985 in south
Florida.

"At the time, I was portraying myself as a smuggler. I had the yachts and
the fast boats. When I was introduced to George Jung he was an escaped
prisoner. He was on the run and needed a place to live to bring a load of
cocaine into south Florida. I invited him to live on the yacht we had.

"We became good friends in that short period of time -- we were like his
protectors. We spent about three and a half months with him before we
arrested him. George Jung was as high as you could get in the drug cartel.
And that was one of the largest drug seizures at that time."

Q. What are some of the important public safety issues do you think need to
be addressed in Plymouth Township?

A. "Since the tragedy on Sept. 11, we're not sure what the total fallout is
going to be in terms of law enforcement. Certainly, the FBI role has
changed -- their priorities have certainly changed. A lot may be left to
local agencies to pick up where the FBI or DEA (U.S. Drug Enforcement
Agency) may have historically been involved. Local law enforcement is going
to have to step out and fill a possible void that may be there."

Q. What are your thoughts on Plymouth Township?

A. "Really safe and secure. But that doesn't mean that there's a wall
around this place and that nothing can happen here."