FOLSOM MAYOR ARRESTED IN POLICE STING: HE ALLEGEDLY OFFERED CASH,
DRUGS FOR SEX

Folsom Mayor Reggie Drew Was Caught In A Police Prostitution Sting

Thursday night when police said he propositioned a female undercover
officer for sex, offering to pay with cash and rock cocaine.

The 9:53 p.m. arrest in a room at the B-Z-B Motel in a gritty commercial
area of North Sacramento left some of the mayor's Folsom City Hall
colleagues in shock -- and apparent grief -- as they issued tense
statements on his behalf Friday morning.

Reached at his home later in the day, Drew, 57, declined to discuss the
specifics of his arrest. He said he'll "make a statement to the citizens"
of Folsom once his case has been adjudicated. "You feel badly. That's a
no-brainer," he said.

Drew's arrest on El Camino Avenue occurred in one of two anti-prostitution
stings the police had staged to implement a controversial ordinance adopted
by the Sacramento City Council last year. The law allows police to
confiscate the cars of people suspected of cruising for drugs or prostitutes.

The mayor, who works in a $74,484-a-year job as chief of quality assurance
for the state Prison Industry Authority in Folsom, was one of eight people
arrested in the two Thursday night stings that were conducted on El Camino
Avenue and Stockton Boulevard, police said.

The alleged incident immediately became the talk of the town in suburban
Folsom, where Drew had delivered an ebullient State of the City address to
the chamber of commerce just hours before his arrest.

Folsom city officials said no immediate action was being contemplated
against Drew, but he would be forced to relinquish his post as mayor and
his seat on the City Council if he is convicted. A city charter statute
mandates removal from office for "a crime involving moral turpitude."

Sacramento Police Capt. Ted Mandalla said Drew was driving his Nissan
pickup truck when he stopped and negotiated for sex with an undercover
police officer who was posing as a prostitute. Mandalla said other officers
were waiting inside a room at the motel when Drew parked, walked in and
paid the woman with cash and a small quantity of rock cocaine.

Drew was quickly arrested and later booked on suspicion of loitering for
prostitution, solicitation for prostitution, possession of narcotics
paraphernalia (a pipe) and possession of cocaine for sale, police said.
Drew's 1986 Nissan pickup truck was confiscated under the new city law, and
the drug charges -- both felonies -- carry sentences of three to five years
in state prison.

After posting $5,000 in bail to gain his release from Sacramento County
jail, Drew answered the door of his Folsom home Friday and said solemnly:
"Hey, you go up high and you come down low. I'm not one to hide."

"I would love to give you the details, but I have to go through this
judicial process," Drew said. "Once, I go through the process, then I'll
make a statement to the citizens. They deserve that. My main concern is for
my family and the city ... . Nobody likes to get embroiled in a legal
situation."

Drew, who was elected to the City Council in 1996 and selected mayor by his
council colleagues last month, is well-known in Folsom for his long civic
involvement and support from the city's business establishment.

Before his arrest Thursday night, he had delivered a long speech at the
Lake Natoma Inn to the chamber of commerce. He hailed the "rich history and
bright future" of a city with prosperous businesses, cherished parks,
nature trails and "one of the lowest crime rates and quickest response
times to calls for police help."

Drew was later arrested in one of the $35-a-night rooms of the one-story,
cinderblock B-Z-B Motel.

One downtown Folsom merchant, Janet Sekany, owner of the Sheepish Grin
Antique Market, said her phone "has been ringing off the hook" with callers
reacting to the mayor's arrest.

"I'm sorry for the city of Folsom to have to put up with something like
this and sorry for his family," Sekany said. She praised Drew for his
service to the city and support of merchants, but had questions.

"What's his involvement? How deep is his involvement?" she asked, adding,
"I'm from a law enforcement background. If you're guilty, you pay the
consequences."

At the historic Folsom Hotel on Sutter Street, customers at a restored 1885
mahogany bar watched the news on television. The popular city hangout is
adorned with old political campaign signs, including one for Drew's 1996
City Council race.

Bartender Judi Simmons, said, "It's an embarrassment. There's nothing proud
about it." Referring to the infamous FBI crack cocaine sting that targeted
the mayor of Washington, D.C., in 1990, she added: "This is already being
associated with a Marion Barry thing. Nobody wants that."

At City Hall, Vice Mayor Cyndi Dow read a statement, expressing "our
concern to the mayor and his family in what must be a very difficult time."

"We need to find out more about the charges before we make a decision on
what we might do," said Councilman Tom Aceituno. "Reggie's done a lot for
this community ... . That's why this makes this so sensitive."

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Jeanie Esajian said Drew has been
placed on paid administrative leave and could face disciplinary action
ranging from a reprimand to dismissal from his job at the Prison Industry
Authority, depending on the outcome of an internal investigation.

Drew has worked for the state-run authority -- which trains inmates in
production skills and sells their manufactured furniture, clothes and
products to government agencies -- since 1978.

Touting Sacramento's new anti-prostitution program, Police Chief Arturo
Venegas Jr. said: "The message that we want to provide is that if you are
going to do this in the city of Sacramento, if you are a prostitute or a
john, you are going to jail and are going to lose your property."

Bee staff writer Andy Furillo contributed to this
report.