RACIAL EPITHET CHARGE DENIED

Attorneys representing a former supervisor in an elite countywide drug unit
vehemently denied allegations contained in a federal lawsuit that his
client frequently used racial slurs.

Andy Douvris, the former deputy director of the Cook County Metropolitan
Enforcement Group, is the "softest, most puppy-dog guy I've ever met," said
Paul Geiger, one of Douvris' attorneys.

"His problem is he's too nice," Geiger said. "He got caught up in this."

Said Robert Fioretti, who also is representing Douvris, "He is confident of
being exonerated, especially in federal court."

Douvris and several other MEG supervisors were accused in a federal
lawsuit, and in an internal inquiry conducted by the Cook County sheriff's
office, of using racial epithets to describe subordinates, criminal
informants and drug dealers.

The controversy came from a complaint filed last year by former MEG agent
Yorli Huff, an African-American woman who insists that her career was hurt
because of her superiors' alleged racist attitudes.

Huff's allegations were largely confirmed by at least one of her
supervisors, Fredrick Guerra, who admitted to sheriff's investigators that
he and other MEG bosses frequently used racial slurs, according to a
transcript of his statement.

Guerra also admitted wearing a black mask around the MEG office and talking
in ghetto slang to make fun of African-Americans.

Douvris and Guerra have been reassigned to desk duty at the sheriff's
office pending the outcome of an internal hearing by officials who are
moving to fire the two men. Geiger insisted that the sheriff's office has
presented "next to nothing" in evidence against his client.

Neither Guerra nor his attorney could be located for comment.

Guerra's brother, Frank, an Illinois state trooper, also was accused of
using inappropriate racial remarks in the MEG offices. He was reprimanded
for his actions and remains part of the MEG unit, state officials said.

Sheriff Michael Sheahan has said that his office acted appropriately to
address Huff's allegations. He also noted that MEG is under the auspices of
the Illinois State Police, not the sheriff's office.

Nonetheless, Sheahan and his aides said they were troubled by the
allegations and that they have pulled all but four of their officers out of
MEG, in part because of the alleged misconduct there.

MEG is composed of officers from the Illinois State Police and police
agencies in Cook County. It investigates low-level drug dealing. Prior to
Huff's complaint, the sheriff's office had 13 officers in the unit.

Warren Millsaps, MEG's deputy director, said the unit has spent the last
year trying to restore its credibility and its relationship with police
departments in Cook County.

"When I came in to MEG, one of the things that I stressed was we wouldn't
tolerate any intolerance" toward minorities or women, Millsaps said.

Cook County MEG is no stranger to controversy. Over nearly 30 years of
existence, it has been portrayed alternately as an agency able to reduce
street-level drug dealing and as Keystone Kops who fancied themselves as
James Bond characters.

It has been 23 years since thieves broke into MEG's supposedly secret
headquarters in Rosemont, making off with four guns, $27,000 in cash and
sensitive records, but the burglary was never solved.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan