IOWA'S FORFEITURE LAW TAKES THE PROFIT OUT OF CRIME

Millions in cash and property have been seized by police and sheriffs

Samuel Vallejo lost more than his freedom when authorities nabbed him for
drug dealing. They also seized four vehicles, $7,000 in cash, a cell
phone and pager from a rural Polk County residence.

"It'll put him out of business for a while," said Chief Deputy Dennis
Anderson of the Polk County Sheriff's Department, which plans to sell the
vehicles at a public auction next month.

Vallejo, 25, is not alone in feeling the sting of Iowa's forfeiture law.
Police and sheriff s departments across the state have used the law to
acquire millions of dollars in cash, cars and other property from people
involved in drug dealing or other crimes.

While Iowa law enforcement agencies don't come across art deco mansions and
powerful cigarette boats like you might find in South Florida, authorities
say the property seizures are a significant tool in their war against drugs.

Critics, though, complain that the law is not fair and can lead to abuses.

Here is a rundown on the property that's been seized in recent years:

* Since January 1992, Iowa has tallied 3,350 cases in which money was
forfeited. The total amount of cash seized each year has averaged nearly
$1 million.

* More than 1,000 vehicles have been confiscated since 1992. Polk County
has led the way with 339 vehicle seizures.

* Contrary to images of drug lords driving expensive sports cars, the
newest vehicle seized under Iowa's forfeiture law this year was a 1995
Chevrolet. The oldest was a 1972 Ford.

Older cars are typical, said Doug Marek, Iowa deputy attorney general for
criminal justice. Drug dealers use them to transport drugs and often
modify them with false paneling and hollowed-out areas in seats.

* Smaller items too numerous to count also have been seized. Examples from
recent cases include a scanner, coffee maker, computer, VCR and a Chinese
assault rifle.

Sometimes you never know what will turn up, like a stuffed toy monkey that
was filled with cash, Marek said.

Seizures of real estate under the Iowa law have been infrequent, he said.
In recent years, law enforcement agencies sold four forfeited properties
for about $277,000.

One was a bar-restaurant in Marshall County where drugs were being sold out
of the bar, Marek said. Another was a Jasper County acreage where drugs
were being sold from a trailer home. In a third case, rural property in
Sioux County was being used to grow marijuana.

The vast majority of forfeiture cases are related to drug dealing, Marek
said. But drugs had nothing to do with the fourth real estate case: a

home in Scott County that was purchased with the proceeds from schemes to
defraud people.

In major drug cases in which real estate, airplanes or heavy equipment are
involved, federal officials are more apt to initiate forfeiture actions
because they are better equipped to handle the property.

Under lowa's law, property can be forfeited if authorities are able to show
it was used to commit an indictable crime other than a driving offense or
was purchased with the proceeds from such a crime.

In the case of Samuel Vallejo, he was transporting methamphetamine from the
southwestern United States, said Anderson. He made trips with different
pickup trucks so that he would not be easily recognized.

Anderson said the sheriff's department expects to receive "a reasonable
amount" of money from the sale of the vehicles, which were forfeited in April.

Vallejo pleaded guilty in February to federal charges of possession with
intent to distribute methamphetamine. In May, he received a 10-year prison
term that subsequently was reduced to about seven because he cooperated
with authorities.

Iowa law enforcement agencies typically get to keep 90 percent of the cash
that is forfeited, the rest goes to the Iowa Department of Justice. The
money has to be spent for something that is outside the agency's regular
budget and it must be used to enhance law enforcement efforts. That can
take the form of undercover drug buys, training or equipment.

Police and sheriffs departments also can use or sell forfeited property.
Cars, for example, may be useful for police surveillance work.

The state has had a comprehensive forfeiture law since 1986, but it was
revised in 1996. Marek said the changes made the law more workable and
consistent with other states' forfeiture laws, and they addressed perceived
abuses. One of the changes is that forfeitures no longer can be based on
simple misdemeanor offenses. On the other hand, the law was expanded to
allow the forfeiture of a person's homestead.

A legislative committee recently reviewed rules proposed by Iowa Attorney
General Tom Miller that outline procedures for using, distributing or
destroying forfeited property. The rules are expected to be adopted.

Supporters of the law say it takes the profit out of crime.

"I don't know if it's a deterrent, but it's an additional punishment," said
Anderson.

The law also turns the criminal's resources against him. "It gives us the
ability to generate the money we can use to investigate and apprehend the
drug dealer without turning to the taxpayer," Anderson said of the money
used for undercover drug buys.

But critics of the law say it has made the property of people accused of
crimes a tempting target of law enforcement agencies.

Marty Ryan, a lobbyist for the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, said the newer
version of the law is an improvement, but abuses are still possible. "There
are still ambitious law enforcement officers who look with envy upon
somebody's goods and say, 'I'd like to have that.' "

Ryan noted that not even a conviction or charge is necessary before

property can be forfeited. The courts have ruled that "it's the property
committing the crime and not the person, and property has no constitutional
rights," he said.

Seized property * Iowa law enforcement agencies have used the state's
forfeiture law to seize millions of dollars in cash, cars and other
property from people charged with crimes, especially drug-dealing. Here is
a look at the crime-related property that has been forfeited since 1992:

Cash $6.3 million

Motor vehicles 1,053

Real estate $277,000

Other items - cell phones, pagers, scanners, computers, guns, drug
paraphernalia

NOTE: Figures for Iowa do not include property forfeitures approved by
federal courts.

SOURCE: Iowa Attomey General's Office

Matthew Chatterley / The Register

Reporter Jonathan Roos can be reached at (515) 284-8443 or
roosj@news.dmreg.com

The Des Moines Register

Checked-by: Pat Dolan