GOVERNMENT'S CAR SALE LEADS TO DISPUTE OVER CASH

At $5,400, the 1995 shiny blue Volkswagen Golf seemed to be a steal, or so
thought Helen Chappell and her son when they bought it this spring from the
federal government.

But two months later the engine quit. Suspecting a fuel problem, a mechanic
at a Kansas City garage checked the gas tank -- where he found $82,000 in
more than a dozen plastic bundles.

The Chappells thought they had won the lottery.

The federal government did not.

U.S. Attorney Stephen Hill has filed a complaint in federal court, saying
the money should go to the U.S. Department of Justice because the car and
cash may have been used in illegal drug activity three years ago.

Jeffrey Chappell, Helen Chappell's son, maintains they should get the money
because they bought the car "as is."

"You always read about stuff the government does, but I was in disbelief
that they would do this," said Jeffrey Chappell, of Kansas City. "The
forfeiture laws are there for trying to get the money out of the hands of
drug dealers and stuff like that. They know darn good and well ... the
money is not in the hands of drug dealers."

The Chappells have filed a lawsuit and are contesting the forfeiture, but
that has required them to pay a $5,000 bond.

In February 1996 the Volkswagen had been stopped by the Missouri Highway
Patrol for speeding. During a search, troopers found cash in baggies --
$24,000. The patrol handed over that money and the car to the Drug
Enforcement Administration, a practice that has concerned legislators this
year.

Missouri law prohibits police agencies from handing off drug money they
seize. Instead, they must send the money through a state court, where a
judge usually sends it to an education fund.

The Kansas City Star reported earlier this year that police in Missouri
often gave the cash or property to the federal government, which keeps a
portion and sends the rest, usually 80 percent, back to police.

David Hansen, attorney for the patrol, said the troopers didn't think at
that time the money could be handled under state law, although the recent
controversy has made the patrol realize that they can.

A trooper had stopped the car, carrying two Mexicans, on Interstate 44 near
Springfield. The car and its passengers were taken to the patrol's garage,
where the $24,000 was found in the battery compartment. That was when the
patrol turned over custody of the car and the money to the DEA.

The Mexicans explained they had driven the car from Mexico. One of the men
said he knew the $24,000 was from the sale of illegal drugs, according to
court records. He would not say who hired him to make the trip.

A federal drug agent told the men they were not under arrest. The men
called a taxi and left after receiving a receipt for the money and the car.
They were never charged with a crime, which is common in these types of
cases, law enforcement officials say.

The government kept the Volkswagen, declaring it abandoned two years later.
The General Services Administration took bids, and Helen Chappell got an
almost new car, which had been driven only 3,600 miles, for a little over
$5,000.

Two months later, when the car broke down, Jeffrey Chappell had it towed to
Waldo Imports. When the mechanic found the money, the garage called the DEA.

Chappell, a real estate rehabber, was house-sitting when he got the message
to call the mechanic, who put DEA Special Agent Lawrence Melton on the
phone. When Chappell realized he was talking to a drug agent, it
immediately flashed in his mind that he could be in trouble.

"The first thing out of my mouth was, 'Hey, I just bought that car from you
guys,' " Chappell said.

But Melton told him about the money, Chappell said, and explained that the
cash should be his free and clear.

" 'As the legal owner of that car, that'll be your money,' " Chappell said
Melton told him. " 'You bought the car as is.' He said, 'That's our
mistake, and we missed it.' "

Melton refused to comment last week. Chris Whitley, Hill's spokesman, said
law enforcement agents did not have the authority to give that type of
advice. "Whether he is right or wrong ... the courts will have to take care
of those matters," Whitley said.

Jeffrey Chappell said he hurried to the garage, but the DEA agent was
already gone. "They had already snatched the money by the time I got
there," he said.

The Chappells said the DEA advised them that all they had to do was fill
out some paperwork and they could have the money. Helen Chappell, who is
retired after 20-plus years at the Missouri Restaurant Association, said
she began planning a couple of vacations.

Now they are fighting the U.S. Department of Justice and have hired Kansas
City lawyer Paul Katz.

Legal disputes over forfeitures are known to take several months or longer.

Federal law requires that the Chappells prove that they are the owners of
the money or that the money "was not derived from any kind of criminal
activity, or both," Whitley said. Then it is up to the judge to decide.

That requirement upsets Jeffrey Chappell.

"This country was not founded on the government being able to seize your
property and requiring you to prove that you are innocent," Chappell said.

Besides, said Katz, "three government agencies failed in their duties to
inspect this car."

The federal complaint argues that the cash may have been used in illegal
drug activity, but Whitley would not comment further on the government's
right to the money, saying he didn't want the case played out in the media.

Speaking of the $24,000, no one seems to know where it went. Since the
Highway Patrol made the traffic stop, it asked the DEA to return 80
percent, according to a police report. But patrol officials say they never
got any back.

Federal drug officials aren't much help.

Melton swore in an affidavit that the money was handled as a forfeiture.
George Spaulding, assistant special agent in charge of the area's Drug
Enforcement Administration office, said he thought the money was part of
another process that wouldn't return any of it to the Highway Patrol.
Contacted early last week, DEA officials in Washington have been unable to
explain where the money went.

Besides the mystery surrounding the $24,000, another question remains. If
Hill's office is successful in their forfeiture of the $82,000, will the
Highway Patrol, which initiated the case, get its share?

To reach Karen Dillon, projects reporter for The Star, call (816) 234-4430
or send e-mail to kdillon@kcstar.com