DRUG CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST 8

For 15 years, Andrew Chambers has helped authorities make drug cases,
but now prosecutors are reviewing the cases in which he had a role.

TAMPA -- Hillsborough prosecutors dismissed drug charges against eight
suspects Monday, the latest fallout from revelations that a star
federal informer may be a liar.

Andrew Chambers has helped the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
and local police convict more than 300 people across the country,
earning $2-million or more for his efforts. Among the drug markets he
penetrated was Tampa.

But Chambers' credibility has come under attack in recent months. The
DEA suspended him, and local prosecutors began reviewing area cases in
which he had a role.

Eric Meyers, chief of the narcotics division for the Hillsborough
State Attorney's Office, said that after closer scrutiny, dropping
some of those cases was the proper legal and ethical thing to do. "We
could not knowingly put on a witness that was not credible and may
have lied," he said.

The action doesn't mean the men can never be recharged; prosecutors
theoretically could refile charges if a case could be built without
Chambers' involvement.

The dismissals followed some defense attorneys' criticism that the
State Attorney's Office failed to release information about Chambers'
troubles earlier and dragged its feet about dismissing the charges.

Dario Diaz, who represents one of the defendants, did not criticize
local prosecutors, but said the DEA should have made it more clear
that there were potential problems with Chambers.

"I don't think the system is inherently flawed," he said. "Some
individual people can flaw it."

Last year, the DEA sent letters to at least three Hillsborough
prosecutors that vaguely referred to Chambers' problems as a witness.

Mark Ober, a Republican candidate for state attorney, said he was not
informed about Chambers' sketchy past until February, after his client
had spent a year in jail and almost went to trial in December. CBS's
60 Minutes contacted Ober on Monday about the cases, he said.

"It's the prosecution's job to hand over that type of information in a
timely fashion," he said. "For whatever reason, we didn't get it."

For 15 years, Chambers, alias Rico, Derrick, or Drew, has helped local
and federal authorities make drug cases against upward of 300
defendants. Along the way, the DEA paid him at least $2-million; some
estimates put the figure closer to $4-million.

The 42-year-old St. Louis native has been accused of being too eager
to please, of crossing the line in and out of the witness chair.
Chambers' criminal record includes charges of forgery, assault,
solicitation of prostitution and impersonating a DEA agent. In a 1994
Minnesota case he lied about his record, which led to a rebuke in a
federal appellate opinion.

Another federal judge criticized a 1995 Colorado drug sting in which
it appeared Chambers was being paid on a contingency basis, giving him
an incentive to inflate the deal.

A California lawyer publicized Chambers' past by sending "wanted"
posters to defense lawyers across the country. He successfully sued
the DEA for access to Chambers' pay records.

Tampa prosecutor Meyers said the defendants cleared Monday are not
suspected of being high-level dealers. The state could reinstate the
charges, but Meyers said it was unlikely barring a "substantial change
in circumstances."

"Keep in mind that everyone is innocent until proven guilty," he said.
"We didn't get a chance to prove anything against these guys."

The cases dismissed Monday include:

In December 1998, Tampa police arrested two Polk County men, Dahrol
Glen James, 24, and Harold "Bo-Bo" Laudrum Jr., 41, in the parking lot
of the Wal-Mart at Dale Mabry Highway and I-275. The men had just paid
$9,000 for 17.6 ounces of cocaine, police said.

In May 1999, James agreed to plead to trafficking in cocaine in
exchange for providing information on "significant drug world figures"
in Polk County, according to court records. In August his lawyer filed
a pleading saying that nothing had happened so James wanted to
withdraw his plea.

In June 1999, Tampa police arrested two St. Louis men who had
traveled to downtown Tampa to pay $35,000 for about 5 pounds of
cocaine, police said. The money and drugs changed hands at noon at N
Ashley Street and E Whiting Avenue.

In July 1999, police charged three Tampa men -- Daniel Batista Jr.,
26, Robert Delgado, 30, and Jose M. Tirado, 28 -- with conspiring to
sell and delivery of a total of 11/2 ounces of heroin on two different
occasions.

In May 1999, 26-year-old Avery Lakith Royster of Palatka was charged
with selling 31/2 ounces of cocaine to a confidential informer.

Two other defendants snared with Chambers' help have already pleaded
guilty and been sentenced.

Meyers said he will contact their attorneys to see if the defendants
want to withdraw the pleas or work out some sort of post-conviction
relief.

The state will go forward with charges against Jose Gardella, 26, who
police said conspired to sell or actually sold a total of 9.2 ounces
of cocaine on several occasions. Chambers was involved in the case,
but so were undercover sheriff's deputies.

Earlier this month, federal prosecutors in Miami dismissed drug
charges against four men who had been arrested with Chambers'
assistance.