LEGISLATOR'S DAUGHTER HELPED COPS BEFORE RECENT DRUG BUST

After Sherburne County authorities seized evidence of methamphetamine
making last year in an art studio owned by Rep. Leslie Schumacher,
DFL-Princeton, her daughter gave information against suspects in
another drug case, the county attorney said Friday.

That cooperation by Jeana Schumacher is one reason she wasn't charged
in the April 1999 search of her mother's property, said County
Attorney Walter Kaminsky. Prosecutors also were concerned that some
evidence of meth manufacturing against Jeana Schumacher and her
boyfriend might not hold up in court, he said.

Kaminsky explained his office's handling of the 1999 investigation in
response to questions raised Wednesday by Sherburne County Sheriff
Bruce Anderson about why no charges were filed last year.

Only after a second search on June 21 turned up new evidence of meth
manufacturing in the studio in Santiago were charges filed against the
legislator's daughter and two men.

On Monday, Jeana Schumacher, 18; her boyfriend, Patrick J. McKay, 19,
and their friend, Dwight P. Steele, 20, were charged with conspiracy
to manufacture meth at the studio. Jeana Schumacher and McKay also are
charged with endangering their 8-month-old son by living with him in
the studio. Only Steele remains in custody at the county jail.

Last year, Jeana Schumacher and McKay helped authorities obtain
convictions in a burglary case and another meth case involving four
other people, Kaminsky said. At the time, Jeana Schumacher and McKay
admitted that meth was made in the Santiago studio in early 1999, he
added.

Now, those statements may be used to bolster the current drug
conspiracy case against them, Kaminsky said.

Rep. Schumacher has denied any knowledge that drug manufacturing took
place in her studio last year. On Wednesday, she refused to comment
when a reporter confronted her with information that she was present
on April 1, 1999, when agents from the Central Minnesota Drug Task
Force searched her property. She is not a suspect in the cases.

On the day of the search, Rep. Schumacher also allowed authorities to
search her daughter's bedroom in the legislator's home. A sheriff's
report says that a large quantity of drug paraphernalia and alcohol
was found in Jeana Schumacher's room and that, with her mother
present, she admitted that drug manufacturing took place in the
studio. Jeana Schumacher was 17 and pregnant at the time.

Rep. Schumacher didn't return phone calls Friday.

Although Jeana Schumacher faced no charges in the 1999 investigation,
authorities prosecuted McKay for receiving stolen property after they
found a stolen rifle in his car on the same day as the first studio
search.

"So we felt something worthwhile certainly came of that," Kaminsky
said. "He pleaded guilty."

One question in the 1999 investigation was whether authorities had
sufficient probable cause when they stopped and searched McKay's
vehicle, Kaminsky said. Law enforcement authorities considered the
stop a routine part of the drug investigation.

"So we had the choice, go for a conviction on receiving stolen
property -- the gun -- and get also their cooperation that would lead
to other convictions," Kaminsky said. "Or go all the way with the drug
case and worry that it might get kicked out and, along with it, the
stolen-property case. McKay admitted that he bought a stolen gun from
a burglar and, at the same time, he and Jeana also pointed fingers at
other people involved in manufacturing methamphetamine. We were
satisfied with that."

Kaminsky said the legislator's daughter got no preferential
treatment.

Sheriff Anderson said the county attorney didn't inform his office
about the decisions in the 1999 case. He is upset because he believes
there is a public perception that officers under his supervision
didn't keep track of the status of the case.

"If there is a decision to not to charge a case, we are routinely told
what evidence would be needed to get those charges, and in this 1999
case we never received any word or letter that there was a problem,"
he said. "No 'deals' were ever made by my men to get cooperation on
cases in return for not having charges brought. All of this is very
disturbing, and obviously there needs to be more sorting out of what
happened here."

Minnesota House leaders, meanwhile, said there were no plans for an
ethics investigation of Rep. Schumacher over the drug cases. House
rules prohibit the Ethics Committee from acting outside of a
legislative session, they said.

"I don't think we have any authority to do anything," said Majority
Leader Tim Pawlenty, R-Eagan. Added Minority Leader Tom Pugh,
DFL-South St. Paul: "The rules clearly don't allow for it."

In addition, they said, the Ethics Committee usually delays probes
over criminal matters until the legal system has run its course. In
this case, they noted, that probably won't occur until after
Schumacher must stand for reelection in November.