DRUG SMUGGLER'S HOME AUCTIONED FOR $870,000

The price jumped from $400,000 to $870,000 within a matter of minutes.

And then it was over.

The home with the million-dollar view along Conejo Road - seized from a
convicted drug smuggler and auctioned off by the U.S. Department of
Treasury - has a new owner: Tom Parsai of Montecito.

More than 100 people crowded into the living room of the 3,352-square-foot
house Friday, anxiously chatting and talking on cell phones while waiting
for the bidding to begin.

"We have people here with their brokers, investors and single-family
bidders," said Britney Bartlett, spokesperson for EG&G Technical Services,
the East Coast company that handles auctions for property seized by the
U.S. Department of Treasury.

Out of many who attended the auction, 45 were registered bidders -- meaning
that they plunked down the required $50,000 cashier's check as a deposit.
The others were curious family members or friends.

The bidding started at $400,000 and fiercely rose to $850,000 where it
stalled, although the property was valued on the open market at about $1
million. Joe Antonucci of Santa Barbara upped it to $865,000, but decided
not to go $6,000 higher to outbid Parsai.

"That was just as far as I would go," said the back-up bidder, who will now
wait to see if Parsai's paperwork goes through and if he turns in the
required 10 percent deposit within three business days. If it doesn't work
out with Parsai, Antonucci becomes the high bidder.

But Parsai plans to see the deal through.

"I was looking at other homes and couldn't find anything for this price,"
said Parsai, 48, who owns two other properties in Santa Barbara and has
lived in Montecito since 1972. He said he expected the bidding to reach
$1.5 million, but was not prepared to go that high himself.

"It's beautiful here - I love the view," said Parsai, while standing on the
wrap-around deck admiring dramatic views of the surrounding hillsides and
valley. But Parsai, who characterizes himself as an investor and
businessman, is not yet certain whether he will live with his family in the
five-bedroom house or just use the property as an investment. It also comes
with a guest house and three acres of land.

The house's former owner, Daniel Wesley Allen, is serving a 17-year
sentence for smuggling more than 600 pounds of cocaine from Mexico to
Ventura County.

In August 1998, U.S. Customs agents detected a twin-engine Cessna flying on
a drug-running route from Mexico. The agents followed the plane for nearly
two hours, but the chase abruptly ended when Allen ran out of fuel and was
forced to land his plane at the Santa Paula Airport.

Federal agents believe the Conejo Road house had been purchased with
profits from Allen's smuggling business, which they say was in operation
for almost 25 years.

But Parsai says he doesn't plan to share the house's history with visitors
and instead will "start a new chapter."

Federal asset forfeiture laws allow agencies to seize and auction property
that is bought through illegally earned money. A variety of items are sold
through these auctions, such as vehicles, boats, planes, jewelry, livestock
and real estate, including land, houses, condominiums, hotels and businesses.

A portion of the proceeds then goes back to the law enforcement agencies
involved in the case. In this instance, the U.S. Customs Department will
share it with the Santa Paula Police Department and other agencies.

More than 300 Department of Treasury auctions are held annually across the
country. The net profit deposited into the U.S. Treasury Asset Forfeiture
Fund each year is between $12 and $20 million.