COP'S TRICKERY LETS DRUG SUSPECT GO FREE

An Orlando man accused of transporting 220 pounds of cocaine in his
car will not be prosecuted because a state trooper who made the arrest
concealed the FBI's involvement in the case.

The U.S. Attorney's Office, which filed drug-trafficking charges after
state prosecutors balked at the case, announced Friday that it could
not proceed against Michael Leonard Flynn, 41, and two
co-defendants.

"Although drug violations were committed, we cannot proceed without
moral tarnish in this case," U.S. Attorney Donna A. Bucella said
during a news conference in Tampa.

She would not discuss whether other drug cases had been prosecuted
without disclosure of cooperation between drug agents and the Florida
Highway Patrol.

Flynn, then a tour-bus driver, was arrested in May 1998 near Lakeland
after his Lincoln Town Car broke down along Interstate 4 on the way to
Orlando.

State troopers approached the car and asked Flynn to open his trunk so
they could check the fuel shut-off switch. When he refused and became
"agitated," troopers summoned a drug dog to sniff the trunk and found
two boxes containing cocaine.

Trooper Douglas Strickland wrote an arrest affidavit indicating he had
stumbled upon the contraband in a stranded motorist's trunk. In fact,
Strickland and FBI agents had met a week earlier to discuss the
operation, in which undercover agents would sell drugs to the suspects
and tamper with the vehicle so it could be shut down by remote control.

The practice, described as "ruse stops" by Strickland, was disclosed
last December during a hearing in Tampa.

Strickland testified that troopers deliberately made no mention in
affidavits of the FBI's involvement at the request of federal
agencies. Troopers filed the misleading information to shield agents
and informants, and to prevent defendants from discovering they were
FBI targets.

A Polk County state attorney who found out about the practice of ruse
stops dropped the case a week after Flynn's arrest.

On Friday, Bucella announced the federal government's turnabout in a
terse statement that acknowledged the "unusual facts" of the case.

Although she defended "affidavits that omit certain details," Bucella
said the appearance of impropriety was cause enough to reconsider the
case.

"While the trooper did not act with the intention to mislead any
judicial officer, the effect of the affidavit is of concern," she said.

Mark NeJame, Flynn's attorney, praised Bucella's decision but
criticized the federal prosecutor who had no qualms about prosecuting
his client and the other men, who were accused of financing the drug
deal.

NeJame accuses Assistant U.S. Attorney James Preston of condoning
misconduct by the FHP and FBI and wanted a full inquiry to expose the
extent of ruse stops.

"Police and FBI misconduct can simply not be tolerated or accepted,"
NeJame said. "FHP and FBI actions in this case misled judges,
prosecutors, the press as well as the accused and their attorneys."

Prosecutor Bradford Copley in Bartow refused to file formal charges
against Flynn in May 1998 because he maintained the affidavit written
by Strickland was false and misleading. He blamed the FBI.

"The system starts breaking down if you're dealing with less than 100
percent going into it," said Russell Knowles, executive director of
the State Attorney's Office in the 10th Judicial Circuit, which
includes Bartow.

"Law-enforcement officers have to be truthful in their arrest
affidavits," he said. "They have to be accountable for the information
given and sworn to."

After the revelation, prosecutors further questioned Strickland, who
assured them the Flynn case was unique in the Polk County area,
Knowles said.

The FHP policy manual, which will be revised as a result of the
controversy, already forbids troopers from filing incomplete reports.

"Reports submitted by members shall be truthful and complete, and no
members shall knowingly enter or cause to be entered any inaccurate,
false or improper information," it reads.

Capt. David Tripp, an FHP spokesman in Tallahassee, said the ruse stop
had been a regular practice statewide in the past. But there is no way
to tell how widespread it may have been.

"We did know that it went on before, but to what extent I don't know,"
Tripp said.

The spokesman said he did not know Strickland's current job status. An
FBI spokesman in Tampa was not available for comment.

Suspects convicted of drug crimes as a result of ruse stops might try
to have their convictions thrown out. But lawyers agreed that finding
out whether the practice was used in an old case would be difficult.

However, lawyers in pending cases could make specific requests for the
information, which then could be used in their clients' defense.

Apart from whether the Flynn case could affect drug prosecutions, its
biggest impact could be on the reputation of police.

Orange Circuit Judge Dorothy Russell, who leads the criminal judges in
Orlando, said that the public and jurors have grown more distrustful
of law officers over the years.

"When you have something like this come up, it makes every
law-enforcement agency look bad and they all take a hit," she said.
"You can't lie to the system -- the judges, the prosecutors. It makes
the whole system seem corrupt."