POLICE GET $121,731 SHARE OF MONEY DISCOVERED IN SEMI

PLAINFIELD, Ind. (Feb. 3, 2000) -- The town of Plainfield got a sizeable
return on an investment Wednesday when its Police Department received a
check for $121,731 from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The bonus -- delivered to Plainfield Police Chief Jack Miller during a
morning news conference at the town's administrative building -- is the
result of a federal program that returns seized drug money to local law
enforcement agencies.

Plainfield police were eligible to receive the funds because they
participated in the seizure of $811,740 in cash last year after a traffic
stop on I-70 near Cloverdale in Putnam County. The Police Department will
use the money to outfit police cruisers with in-car computers.

State Police will receive about $500,000, said U.S. Special Agent Irvin J.
"Herk" Lightcap. The Putnam County Prosecutor's office will receive
$40,000.

"I wasn't surprised; the situation definitely fit the pattern of drug
trafficking," said Plainfield Patrolman Ty A. Van Wagner, who participated
in the arrest. "I just had no idea it would be the largest cash seizure in
the state of Indiana."

Last May, State Trooper Dennis Wade pulled over a speeding semitrailer
truck on westbound I-70. Inside the cab were two Michigan men -- the
driver, Alphonso Taylor, 45, and Michael McGee, 43.

Neither could produce the truck's logbook or agree on their destination
when questioned by Wade.

That aroused the trooper's suspicion, since he was familiar with the
reputation I-70 as a much-used road for drug shipments into the Midwest.

He called for assistance, and Plainfield sent Van Wagner and the
department's drug-sniffing dog, Kinta.

The black German shepherd -- trained as a passive indicator -- went
immediately to the semi's cab, which had a sleeper unit with a bed.

Inside the cab, investigators found bundles of cash inside two large canvas
bags, in neat stacks of $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills.

Both men denied knowing the money was there. Neither was charged with drug
trafficking, but McGee was charged in Putnam County with cocaine
possession, and Taylor was cited for speeding.

The 1994 Peterbilt rig was seized by State Police, and the cash was
confiscated and turned over to U.S. Customs and the Drug Enforcement
Administration.

Lightcap said the case remains under investigation by federal authorities.
He said the joint police investigation was an excellent example of
collaboration among federal, state and local police.

"Our role was actually very, very minimal. ... . It was just some good
old-fashioned police work," he said.

Miller praised the work of Van Wagner and Kinta.

The Police Department purchased Kinta in 1996 from the Denver, Ind.-based
Vohne Liche Kennels, which specializes in breeding dogs used by law
enforcement agencies.

Private donors paid the $7,000 for the dog. Police have used Kinta in drug
interdictions and search and rescue incidents, Miller said.