OFFICIALS SAY MEASURES AGAINST RAVE PARTIES ARE UNLIKELY

Hialeah - In the aftermath of the Ecstasy drug bust that cost three Hialeah
Police officers their jobs, city officials say they aren't considering any
measures to regulate all-night rave parties popular with teenagers.

Hialeah's stance counters the advice of a Miami narcotics detective with
four years of experience monitoring raves and the experience of two Florida
cities that have passed ordinances regulating such parties.

"I don't know that we have a huge problem with the rave parties," said
Hialeah Council President Alex Morales. "Obviously, they need to be
monitored. Obviously, the city is going to do some follow-up in light of
recent events. To the best of my knowledge, it is not a big problem."

What the city has done, Morales said, is that: "The mayor has prohibited
Hialeah police officers from working these events off-duty."

Detective Eladio Paez, a member of the special investigations unit of the
Miami Police Department, said raves pose a particular danger to youth
because they use drugs to espouse the universal ideals of peace, love,
unity and respect.

"The problem does not lie in the dancing or the party or the dance scene,"
Paez said. "The problem lies in the drugs that are used, and that is what
should be banned. This thing revolves around drugs."

His advice to cities: "I would say more active police presence. We are
talking about uniform presence inside and undercover [police] inside."

Paez cited the example of Orlando and Tampa -- two Florida cities with
ordinances regulating rave parties.

Jim DeSimone, spokesman for the city of Orlando, said his city took action
after noticing that after-hour rave parties at nightclubs in the downtown
area were becoming "drug markets." The City Council tackled the problem by
passing a September 1997 law requiring bars to stop selling alcohol at 2
a.m. and shut down by 3 a.m.

"What we made clear is that we were not going after techno music or a
particular culture," DeSimone said. "It was a health and safety issue."

The strategy worked. Six months after the ordinance was passed, calls for
police service in the downtown club area dropped by 60 percent, DeSimone
said. Arrests decreased by 63 percent.

Hialeah's situation differs from Orlando's, however. The rave party where
former Officer Omar Diaz admitted to selling drugs to an undercover police
informant in October was at an empty warehouse -- not a nightclub.

Bill Grodnick, Hialeah's city attorney, said the temporary nature of
warehouse parties makes it difficult to regulate them. So far, he has not
been asked by the mayor or the council to draft an ordinance regarding rave
parties, he said.

Singling out rave parties for special regulation does not sit well with
Council Vice President Julio Robaina. But he said he might support
requiring special permits for raves.