NEW W. TEXAS DRUG TASK FORCE PREPARES TO BEGIN WORK

Group under heavy scrutiny because of allegations against decommissioned
predecessor

MIDLAND - As one decommissioned drug task force tries to re-establish
funding after allegations of mismanagement, the newly formed West Texas
Narcotics Enforcement Task Force prepares to begin operations next month.

Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. David Bradshaw, the appointed
supervisor of the new agency, said he expects heavy scrutiny because of the
past group's troubles.

But Lt. Bradshaw said he thinks the public is eager to welcome another law
enforcement branch.

"All the controversy and negative attitudes have not affected us; we're
optimistic," Lt. Bradshaw told The Midland Reporter-Telegram. "The community
needs a task force, and it makes no difference between who is running it.
They appreciate good law enforcement, regardless."

Scrutiny could be more pronounced because of two Texas Rangers' reports,
obtained by the Odessa American through open records requests, that detail
the former task force's problems.

Among the allegations are falsified meal tickets, quarterly reports in which
drug confiscations were inflated and questions about other records.

After the governor's Narcotics Control Program chose not to renew funding to
the Permian Basin Drug Task Force, program officials announced that the
Department of Public Safety would operate a new task force with $800,000 in
federal funds for a nine-month period.

Jurisdiction for the new agency will stretch from Big Bend National Park to
Big Spring. As of Friday, nine people had been hired from a pool of 19
applicants. Six were employees of the Permian Basin Drug Task Force.

"They are very qualified and trustworthy officers. They have between 10 and
four years of experience in narcotics," Lt. Bradshaw said.

"They will bring in a lot of experience with working street-level narcotics.
It would have taken a lot of time to train them and the others. They have
years of this experience and have built contacts."

Meanwhile, supporters of the Permian Basin Drug Task Force have applied for
state money available for other multijurisdictional task forces that want to
conduct anti-drug operations in West Texas.

The amount of funding available will be smaller than that of an appointed
task force because the Texas Narcotics Control Program must keep the number
of task forces within moderation, said Linda Edwards, a spokeswoman for Gov.
George W. Bush.

The Permian Basin agency formerly had a $1.8 million budget.

"We're filling out applications and obtaining written commitments with
agencies that want to work with us," Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter
said. "We're going ahead and submitting it to the governor's office and hope
that by now, we're going to have someone that's smart enough to handle the
job up there."

Checked-by: Don Beck