GOLDEN DOCTOR FIGHTS DRUG AGENCY FOR RETURN OF HIS LUXURY CAR

Federal agents say James R. Metzger, a Golden physician, was on a drug
run for himself when he drove to a Safeway pharmacy in April and
picked up a prescription of 60 codeine-laced pills.

Sensing something was amiss with Metzger's explanation that the
prescription was for a patient, the pharmacist promptly notified the
Drug Enforcement Administration.

Now the 38-year-old doctor is fighting the DEA in Denver federal court
for the return of his 1999 Lexus RX300. The $40,000 sport utility
vehicle was seized from Metzger's home earlier this month under civil
forfeiture rules that allow law enforcement agencies to confiscate
property that may have been used to commit a crime.

Metzger has yet to be charged with breaking any law.

But the DEA says he has confessed to prescribing narcotic medications
"in the names of friends, neighbors and family" then using the drugs
for himself.

According to court forfeiture documents, Metzger told DEA agents that
he had been ingesting an average of four Vicodin tablets a day for the
past two years. He also admitted to calling in other bogus
prescriptions for narcotics and driving to various pharmacies to have
them filled, says a Sept. 29 affidavit signed by Denver DEA agent Paul
Jaster.

Last week in U.S. District Court, Metzger filed a claim of ownership
for the Lexus, denying it was used "in any manner to facilitate the
transportation, sale, (or) concealment of forfeitable drugs."

Metzger, who the Colorado Board of Medical Examiners says is no longer
practicing medicine but still holds a valid Colorado medical license,
declined to comment on the forfeiture case.

Peter Metzger, the doctor's father, said his son had recently finished
several months of treatment at a drug rehabilitation center and is
trying to pull his life back together.

"He was away for three months ... and they (DEA) wait till now to
seize his car," Peter Metzger said. "We thought it was strange. I
can't see any reason behind this."

Defense attorney calls seizure excessive

Criminal defense attorneys say the case is one of the most extreme
applications of asset-forfeiture laws they've seen in Colo rado in
years.

"It's legalized thievery," said Denver attorney Larry Pozner, past
president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

"The government stole that car, and it's disgusting. You have what
appears to be a citizen with a drug problem hurting no one but himself
and cooperating with police. But instead of just trusting this case to
the criminal justice system, they take away his car, which has
virtually no relationship to writing out a false prescription."

Assistant U.S. Attorney James Russel said the Lexus will remain with
the DEA unless Metzger can prove in court that the luxury import was
"innocent."

DEA spokesman Dennis Follett said the absence of criminal charges
against Metzger is irrelevant. Forfeiture rules require only that the
DEA establish "probable cause" that the Lexus was used to obtain drugs
illegally.

"At this point in time, the DEA has no comment on the investigation,"
Follett said.

Dick Weatherbee, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Denver,
defended the DEA's actions.

"The law permits seizure and forfeiture independent of criminal
charges or a conviction," he said.

Even so, Weatherbee said "the fact that there is no arrest in this
case is not indicative there won't be an arrest."

Weatherbee suggested there may be more to Metzger's "confession" that
he ingested most of the controlled substances he prescribed.

In checking Metzger's story, Weatherbee said the DEA found that
Metzger authorized and personally picked up 96 controlled substance
prescriptions -- "a total of 5,760 dosage units" -- at 12 Denver-area
pharmacies between May 1997 and May 1999.

In reviewing the case, Denver criminal defense attorney Joseph
Saint-Veltri characterized the Lexus forfeiture as "fairly extreme"
for Colorado.

"I would consider it out of the ordinary," he said.

Originally intended as a weapon against drug kingpins and smugglers,
asset forfeiture laws have been upheld by the Supreme Court in cases
involving other criminal suspects and people suspected of less serious
drug offenses.

But Saint-Veltri said civil forfeitures have been thrown out in cases
in which they appear to be out of line with the suspected criminal
conduct.

"The only moderator ... is essentially that the forfeiture must be in
some way proportional to the criminal conduct," Saint-Veltri said.