US FINES PATRIOTS STAR IN DRUG CASE

S Customs officials in Niagara Falls, N.Y., seized a small amount of the
drug ecstasy from the suitcase of Patriots All-Pro cornerback Ty Law early
yesterday morning after stopping the car he was driving. Law was fined $700
and paid on the spot.

Sources knowledgeable about the episode gave the following account last night:

The Patriots were getting ready to board a charter flight home Sunday night
after they had beaten the Buffalo Bills, 13-10, in a game played in
blizzard-like conditions when wide receiver Terry Glenn, who has a deep
fear of flying, refused to go along, citing the terrible weather.

Two teammates, Troy Brown and Ty Law, said they would stay back with Glenn
and take a flight back to Boston early yesterday morning, a move OK'd by
Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who admonished them to get back to
Foxborough in time for a team meeting that afternoon.

The sources say the three men then drove over the border to the Canadian
area of Niagara Falls, where they spent the early morning hours in an adult
club and where Law met up with a woman of his acquaintance, Tania Edwards.

About 5 a.m., the sources say, Law and Glenn and Brown and Edwards headed
back to the border, and soon Glenn and Brown were fast asleep in the back seat.

According to a statement issued yesterday by US Customs authorities, ''At
approximately 5:30 a.m. on the morning of December 18, 2000, Tajuan ''Ty''
Law, a member of the New England Patriots, entered the United States from
Canada at the Port of Niagara Falls, via the Rainbow Bridge. During an
inspection of his baggage, Customs inspectors discovered three whole pills
and four partially crushed pills that tested positive for MDMA, commonly
known as ''Ecstasy'', a Schedule 1 illegal drug.

''Customs officials contacted Federal prosecutors, who declined prosecution
because of the quantities involved. Customs officials then seized the
illegal drugs and issued an administrative penalty against Mr. Law in the
amount of $700. The penalty was paid on the spot and Mr. Law was released.''

Edwards was fined $500 for possession of a marijuana cigarette, according
to Mark MacVittie, a chief inspector with the Customs Service in Buffalo.

Law is now subject to team and league discipline for violation of the NFL's
drug policy because he was in possession of an illegal drug.

Law was not available for comment last night, and Brown and Glenn declined
to say anything. Law told friends the pills didn't belong to him.

League spokesman Greg Aiello said commissioner Paul Tagliabue and the
league's management council likely would review the incident to determine
whether a fine or suspension was warranted. Aiello said drug violations are
reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Usually the league doesn't get involved until there has been a court
proceeding. In this case, Law settled the matter.

Law, a six-year veteran, signed a seven-year deal with the Patriots for $50
million in August 1999. He received a $14.2 million signing bonus, the
highest bonus ever given to a Patriots player. He earned Pro Bowl honors in
1998 after leading the league with nine interceptions.

The 5-foot-11-inch, 200-pound native of Aliquippa, Pa., majored in sports
management and communications at the University of Michigan. He was the
Patriots' first-round pick (23d overall) in 1995.

Nick Cafardo of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.