FIREFIGHTER GETS 15 DAYS FOR POSSESSING COCAINE

Madison - A Madison Fire Department lieutenant convicted of participating in
a national drug network will serve 15 days in prison for possessing cocaine.

Terry Rice was also placed on probation for one year, fined the minimum
$1,000 and ordered to do 400 hours of community service.

Rice's co-worker, firefighter Michael Merkle, told authorities he supplied
Rice with cocaine in 1995. Merkle was sentenced Tuesday to 30 days in prison
and a year on probation.

Both firefighters pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor federal charges after an
FBI investigation found they were part of a network that smuggled cocaine
from California to Wisconsin.