U.S. SAYS DEAL REACHED IN DRUG CASES; BORDER DA DENIES MAKING AGREEMENT

SAN ANTONIO For a moment, it appeared that the long-simmering dispute
between federal prosecutors and state district attorneys along the border
over the cost of referred drug cases might be coming to an end.

Bill Blagg, U.S. attorney for the Western District announced Tuesday what
was heralded as an agreement in principle with Val Verde County District
Attorney Tom Lee for reimbursement for the costs of handling federal cases.
It was supposed to be the model for similar agreements with state
prosecutors along the U.S. border with Mexico.

There was only one hitch. Mr. Lee said he hadn't agreed to any such thing.

"Clearly, there is some misunderstanding," Mr. Lee said. "The only thing I
agreed to was that I would keep taking federal referrals to the end of my
term, which ends in January. I am aware of no other agreement."

Daryl Fields, spokesman for the San Antonio-based Western District, said
somebody agreed to it.

"I have a letter ... that spells out the agreement between Mr. Blagg and
Val Verde County for reimbursement of 6.24 percent of county costs for
federal referrals for part of this fiscal year and continuing in the next
fiscal year," Mr. Fields said. "It's not just something we just decided to do."

The letter, dated Sept. 25, tells Mr. Lee that a reimbursement agreement is
in effect covering the portion of the current fiscal year from July 14 to
Sept. 30 and for all of fiscal 2001.

"The letter was mailed yesterday, and we faxed him a copy today," Mr.
Fields said. "It's basically what he asked for. As soon as the county
returns their data, we can begin dispensing the funds. It's money for work
already done."

Reimbursements will come from the $12 million Southwest Border Local
Assistance Initiative fund created this summer.

The confusion doesn't derail the agreement, Mr. Blagg said. Nor does the
incident affect what appears to be a major breakthrough in the dispute
between federal prosecutors and their state counterparts over the Justice
Department's practice of referring the hundreds of low-grade drug cases
along the border to state jurisdictions for prosecution.

Over the last five years, according to an informal Justice Department
study, total costs to the state prosecutors from Brownsville to San Diego
averaged about $96 million.

In Texas, annual costs to border prosecutors ranged from about $1 million
to $5 million.

In June, district attorneys serving Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Hudspeth and
El Paso counties declared a boycott on accepting any more federal
referrals. After discussions with Justice Department officials began, the
district attorneys canceled the boycott but vowed to not accept any more
federal cases next year.

Mr. Lee said federal referrals make up about 20 percent of the 325 criminal
indictments returned by Val Verde County grand juries each year. Most of
the federal cases are small marijuana busts of less than 100 pounds at the
international bridge.

Mr. Lee, who steps down after 23 years as district attorney to become a
state district judge in Val Verde County, said he doubted the confusion was
Mr. Blagg's fault.

"Once you get the bureaucrats and bean counters in Washington involved, a
lot of assumptions get made," he said. "Any decisions on what happens next
year will have to be handled by my successor, Fred Hernandez."

Tuesday, Western district officials applauded the reimbursement agreement
as the first with any district attorney along the border on reimbursable
costs. It would also become the protocol by which district attorneys along
the border would get repaid.

Reimbursable costs are limited to county costs attributed to court costs,
courtroom technology, construction of holding spaces, administrative staff
and indigent defense costs.

According to the letter sent out to Mr. Lee, once the district attorney
sends in an expenditure report each quarter to the Western District,
showing actual expenditures in the approved areas, a check for 6.24 percent
of those costs will be issued by the federal government.

"The DAs are a vital part of fighting the war on drugs along our Southwest
border," Mr. Blagg said. "We're hopeful this results in an agreement with
others along the border."

If the agreement is acceptable, each of the state prosecutors along the
border will deal with the U.S. attorney's office in their area, Mr. Fields
said. Funds will come out of the district offices, not Washington