DEA, FBI HALT CONTRACTS WITH DATABASE SERVICE

Law Enforcement: Concerns about the company founder's past contribute to
the agencies' decision.

Miami-The Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI suspended their
contracts with a major law-enforcement database company partly because of
the reputation of the company's founder and major stockholder, The Miami
Herald reported Saturday.

DBT Online, based in Boca Raton, compiles public records worldwide and
provides dossiers on investigative targets for about 1,500 police agencies.

The DEA and FBI halted their contracts with the company in May, partly over
concern that founder Henry Edward Asher was suspected in the early 1980s of
flying illegal drugs to the United States from the Bahamas.

The agencies also were concerned that the company could monitor
investigations, the newspaper said.

However, no evidence has been found that any cases have been compromised,
and DBT executives say such a prospect is impossible because of its
intricate security measures.

Asher, 49, has never been arrested or charged with any crime.

The company announced Friday that Asher had agreed to sell his majority
ownership in an effort to save DBT's law-enforcement contracts, which
account for 25 percent of the company's $60 million in yearly revenue.

The DEA and FBI told agents May 18 to stop using information services from
DBT's Database Technologies subsidiary.

A DEA statement said a routine internal inspection of the agency's Miami
field office in 1998 "raised significant concerns" about the company.

Asher issued a statement through his lawyer denying any criminal activity
and saying unfair disclosures to the Herald were timed to affect the value
of his $148 million in company stock.