FIRED DRUG AGENT DEFENDS RECORD

STATE INVESTIGATOR SAYS HE WAS FIRED FOR BEING TOO OUTSPOKEN.

Reasons for firing

Among the violations Ken Arduser is accused of: leaving the scene of a
police search, driving a state-issued vehicle for personal business, typing
three personal letters on his office computer and failing to report an
accident in a timely manner.

A veteran Iowa drug agent who played a key role in the state's fight
against methamphetamine said he was fired last month for trivial reasons,
including typing three personal letters on his office computer and filling
a state truck with expensive gasoline.

Ken Arduser, who worked for the state Division of Narcotics Enforcement for
28 years, doesn't deny many of the allegations. But he said he believes he
was fired by public safety commissioner Paul Wieck because he was too
outspoken about how the state should fight the methamphetamine epidemic.

"I loved the hell out of what I was doing and thought I was doing good at
it," Arduser, 49, said Tuesday in his first interview since he was fired
July 21. "I'm still a very big asset to the war on drugs. It hurts my
integrity that I am unable to continue working to shut down the influx of
meth into the state of Iowa."

Arduser's firing comes amid ongoing turmoil at the Department of Public
Safety. In the past two years, the agency has been shaken by incidents of
state trooper violence, the abrupt resignation of the state medical
examiner and an unprecedented destruction of evidence at the Division of
Criminal Investigation's crime lab.

Wieck was in Wisconsin on a National Guard Training mission and could not
be reached Tuesday to comment. His executive assistant, Capt. Dennis
Merritt, declined to discuss the case, saying it was a personnel matter.

Arduser, who supervised the law-enforcement team that raided meth labs
across the state, is not accused of stealing money or drugs. Officially,
these are among the allegations that got Arduser fired: leaving the scene
of a police search, driving a state-issued vehicle for personal business
and failing to report an accident.

But Arduser also believes he was terminated because his superiors didn't
think he was a "team player" in the state's fight against methamphetamine,
which has grown at an alarming pace.

Arduser resisted some officials' attempts to move the clandestine drug lab
team from the narcotics agency to the Iowa State Patrol. Arduser said he
believed the team should have stayed under the narcotics division because
of its drug expertise.

"I was vocal about how I felt and what I did," Arduser said. "I guess I
never withheld my opinions to any extent."

Des Moines attorney Maggi Moss, who is representing Arduser, said he was
fired "for silly, ridiculous administrative violations."

"I cannot think of any case where someone was terminated in law enforcement
with these types of allegations," said Moss, who frequently represents
police officers. "The question is: What's really going on in the
Department of Public Safety?"

State officials declined to answer that question Tuesday.

But a review of other disciplinary actions by the Department of Public
Safety shows that the outcome of Arduser's case appears different than
other public safety employees.

In April, Michael Rehberg, the admirdstrator of the Division of Criminal
Investigation's lab, was given a reprimand and a 30-day suspension for
destroying evidence in the state crime lab. He was ordered to write
letters of apology to all county attorneys who had evidence from homicide
cases destroyed.

The state medical examiner, Thomas Bennett, resigned but wasn't fired,
despite allegations that he used office equipment for personal business.

Arduser was fired July 21 after a 10-month internal affairs investigation.
The six violations against him were outlined in a letter from Wieck:

* Disobeying rules and laws: The agency accuses Arduser of making nine
purchases totaling $53.54 with a state-issued Amoco credit card.

Arduser said the purchases included food for surveillance operations and a
car wash for his undercover vehicle.

* Incompetence or unsatisfactory performance: Officials accuse Arduser
of leaving the scene of a drug-related police search, during which about
$900 came up missing and all law-enforcement officers were questioned.
Arduser was not accused of taking money - a West Des Moines police officer
is under investigation in the matter. But Wieck said that because Arduser
was a supervisory agent he should have stayed until the search of Robert J.
Willson's home, 1244 E. 27th St., was complete.

Arduser said he left to take another agent to the office. The FBI was in
charge, he said, and he didn't need to be present.

* Use of department equipment: Arduser is accused of using his office
computer three times in the course of 19 months for personal business, an
allegation he did not deny.

* Operation of state vehicles: Internal affairs officers saw Arduser
driving a state-issued 1996 Dodge Ram pickup truck several times on
weekends even though he wasn't supposed to be working, mounting 1,318 miles
in a three-month period. They say he used the truck to pull a hay trailer
and allowed his wife to use his truck to pull-start a tractor.

Arduser admitted using his truck on the weekends, saying his job of
tracking down drug dealers didn't stop at the end of the work week. He said
that his wife drove the truck, but only for a few feet.

* Fuel purchasing: An audit showed Arduser purchased "Amoco's
Gold/Ultimate Premium" gas for his truck, even though the state advises
employees to use the cheapest fuel possible.

Arduser admitted using the higher-priced gas. He said he pulled a heavy
drug lab trailer with his truck, and was told it would run better with a
premium gasoline.

* State vehicle damage report: The mirror on Arduser's truck was damaged
by a tree on Jan. 18, but he failed to report the accident until two days
later. State law requires employees to file an accident claim the day of
the accident.

Arduser also admits this allegation, but said Jan. 18 was a Sunday and the
next day was a state holiday, so he waited until Jan. 20 to report the
minor damage.

Arduser, who believes his firing was too extreme, said: "Any of these six
items should have been handled in a verbal or written reprimand."

He is on paid suspension until his appeal is heard by the state employment
appeal board. If the appeal is unsuccessful, he could take his case to
district court.

Reporter Jeff Zeleny can be reached at (515) 284-8048 or
zelenyj@news.dmreg.com

(c) The Des Moines Register

Checked-by: Pat Dolan