CLEAN UP THE DEA

FEDERAL drug agents are diverting money from the nation's war on drugs to
pay for personal high-priced toys - and who knows what else. According to
an outside audit, bookkeepers at the Drug Enforcement Agency can't track
the whereabouts of millions of stolen funds, seized drugs, or sting money.

Peat Marwick, a top private accounting firm, examined the agency's 1997
books and concluded that the office: had no system for keeping track of
property and equipment; could not document more than $5 million in
purchases, and had no reliable records for its inventory of seized drugs.

Two criminal cases brought separately against DEA workers show how this
lack of record-keeping encourages a culture of abuse.

The first case involved a recently retired budget analyst indicted on 74
counts and charged with stealing $6 million over seven years. The employee
is accused of spending drug-war funds to purchase and remodel several
homes, subsidize family vacations in Europe, and buy jewelry, collector's
coins, art and luxury cars.

A second case involved a telecommunications specialist for the DEA who
pleaded guilty to submitting purchase orders for stereos, computers, VCRs
and a 50-inch television set.

The Justice Department has pledged to fix the DEA's "antiquated financial
system." But this isn't a complicated software problem or math puzzle.
Endowed with a politically protected mission to wage the drug war at all
costs, the DEA has flouted the public trust.

If the Clinton administration fails to rein in this corrupted fiefdom,
Congress should step in. The agency was created to fight crime, not breed
it.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)