POLICE SPY FUELS FLAMES SURROUNDING THE SUSPENSION OF CHIEF COULBOURN DYKES

Shortly after my election, I became aware the city had withdrawn from the
Wicomico County Narcotics Task Force (WINTF). To my knowledge, the city's
withdrawal had gone unreported in the press, and I therefore sought written
confirmation, which I soon obtained, in the form of letters from Chief
Coulbourn Dykes (April 3) and City Solicitor Robert Eaton (April 15).

Since WINTF has been widely praised as the second-most-effective operation
of its sort in Maryland, I was surprised and distressed to learn of the
city's sudden withdrawal. As I investigated, I became greatly concerned
the city's exit from WINTF was designed to prevent the detection of
mismanagement of public property by the city and its agents.

The city entered into WINTF by written agreement dated Sept. 17, 1987. The
members of the Task Force were the city of Salisbury, the Wicomico County
Sheriff's Department, the State's Attorney for Wicomico County and Maryland
State Police; the towns of Fruitland and Delmar joined the Task Force as
"associate" members.

The formation of WINTF came about in response to the need for cooperative
efforts to halt drug-related crime in the Salisbury metropolitan area.

As WINTF got under way, its funding increasingly depended on confiscated
cash and the sale of property, principally vehicles, seized from drug
dealers. As explained on page seven of the agreement, this property was to
be sold, the proceeds paid over to the Task Force and a careful record of
the transaction made, including the approximate value of the property and
"final disposition or distribution."

Within a year, the responsibility for selling WINTF vehicles, collecting
the proceeds for WINTF, and accounting for the transactions, had been
undertaken by Chief Dykes. Chief Dykes, in turn, entrusted these matters
to Stephen Hitch, a local insurance agent. Although no written agreement
was entered into, Mr. Hitch was authorized by the Chief to sell the
vehicles belonging to WINTF (and in some cases, to the City of Salisbury)
and remit the proceeds; Mr. Hitch was to handle these matters gratuitously,
as a public service.

The Task Force's activities have been managed by an advisory board on which
each participating agency maintains a representative. In 1996, members of
the Task Force advisory board began questioning what was happening to
seized vehicles and the proceeds from their sale. As these questions
became increasingly insistent, an audit team comprised of deputy state's
attorney Sam Vincent, Lt. Doris Schonbrunner of the Sheriff's Department
and City Police Lt. Shelley McKinney was established. (Lt. McKinney
relates her initial SPD assignment was to "spy" on other Task Force members.)

After Lt. McKinney had become outspoken in her criticism of Mr. Hitch's
transactions, Chief Dykes removed her from the audit team and replaced her
with Major Jeff Livingston. (Simultaneously, Chief Dykes relieved Lt.
McKinney of her duties as lieutenant in the criminal investigation division
and assigned her duties involving less responsibility, though at the same
rate of pay and with no demotion in rank.)

In March of this year, the WINTF audit team, by then comprised of Chief
Deputy Kirk Daugherty, Lt. Schonbrunner, MSP Sgt. Ron Petty, Major
Livingston and MSP Lt. Mike Spalding, submitted a report reaching the
following conclusion:

"It is apparent that there were many improprieties that occurred over the
years concerning the selling of forfeited vehicles ... (I)t is quite
evident that there are no standard operating procedures in place concerning
selling and tracking of forfeited vehicles. During the investigation no
consistent rules, guidelines or procedures were located about tracking the
vehicles. It is apparent that once the vehicles left the Task Force
compound, there was no follow-up as to what happened to the vehicles."

At about the same time, (March of this year), Chief Dykes issued an amended
internal directive instructing city police officers to refrain from contact
or communication with the mayor and members of the City Council. The
directive also admonished:

"The Mayor and members of the City Council have no obligation to follow the
chain of command, Mayor to the Chief, before meeting with any employee of
this agency to discuss department policy and/or procedures. If any such
meeting is initiated, the employee will promptly notify the Chief who will
re-establish the chain of command."

On April 27, Lt. McKinney resigned. Since Lt. McKinney is no longer
employed by the City Police Department, she apparently felt at liberty to
communicate directly with elected officials. That same day, she delivered
to then-Council President Carolyn Hall a memo addressed to "The Honorable
members of the Salisbury City Council." I am under the impression Ms. Hall
may not have distributed copies.

As you will see when you review Lt. McKinney's memo, it summarizes the
findings of her investigation of the WINTF vehicle account and her
conclusion "it was more than a poor paper work problem" (page four). I
obtained a copy of Lt. McKinney's memo last week, and, after discussing it
with Lt. McKinney (and obtaining a copy of her investigation notes), became
distressed about the situation generally and in particular her contention
Chief Dykes had ordered WINTF information deleted from Salisbury Police
Department computers (pages 10-14). I have since obtained a copy of the
report produced by the audit team, and am convinced it, viewed in
connection with the other information at our disposal, confirms gross
mismanagement of Task Force property occurred while that property was
entrusted to Chief Dykes.

Chief Dykes, as the city's representative on the Task Force, was charged
with selling vehicles seized by the Task Force and keeping accurate sales
records. However, the vehicles and monies derived from their sale were
mismanaged, and the supporting documentation was at best inadequate and at
worst misleading. Mr. Hitch, the person to whom Chief Dykes had entrusted
these matters, apparently sold the vehicles to associates and acquaintances
for inadequate consideration, exchanged them for personal services and
filmed them in commercials made for his personal business. Assuming, for
present purposes, Chief Dykes knew nothing of this, the situation is
nonetheless one in which the chief established a personal friend in a
position of trust, consigned public property to his care, maintained little
or no oversight, and then reacted angrily and obstructively when attempts
were made to remedy the problems. This situation is particularly
distressing when one considers WINTF was engaged in extremely hazardous law
enforcement activities and was at least partially dependent for its funding
on the monies derived from the sales mismanaged by Mr. Hitch.

To make matters still worse, Chief Dykes and Mr. Eaton have now effectively
brought about the city's exit from the Task Force under circumstances
strongly suggesting the underlying motive was to escape detection. (I am
reliably informed Chief Dykes' explanation to other Task Force members was
he did "not want the Attorney General's office coming down now.")

Of the approximately 180 vehicles seized by the Task Force and entrusted to
Chief Dykes for resale, 36 were identified by the audit team as involving
irregularities. For these 36, the records maintained by Chief Dykes were
substantially incomplete, and for many vehicles no purchase price was
recorded. Two of the vehicles were apparently swapped by Mr. Hitch in
exchange for getting the carpets in his home and insurance office cleaned.

Additionally, several vehicles were used by Mr. Hitch to stage accidents
that were filmed (apparently together with a marked city police car and
perhaps also a uniformed police woman) for TV commercials soliciting
business for Mr. Hitch's insurance agency. A number of the sales made by
Mr. Hitch, purportedly on behalf of the Task Force, resulted in checks
being issued to a fictitious entity, "Salisbury Practical Shooting
Supplies," apparently used by Mr. Hitch as an alter ego.

But by far the majority of the irregularities discovered were simply
transactions in which Mr. Hitch sold Task Force vehicles, at grossly
inadequate prices, to friends and business acquaintances of himself and/or
Chief Dykes. To give you some flavor of the irregularities and
improprieties detected, I will summarize a few.

One of the first irregularities uncovered by the audit efforts was in
connection with a l988 Ford Tempo, seized by the Task Force Jan. 19, 1990,
and identified in the audit report as vehicle #30. In his records, Chief
Dykes assigns an appraised value of $8,000.00 to this vehicle. According to
Lt. McKinney's notes, the city paid off a lien on the vehicle in August of
1990, in the amount of $4,126.88. Chief Dykes' records contain no sales
price figure for this vehicle, and there is no record of any deposit in the
Task Force account in connection with this vehicle. According to MVA
records, however, the car was sold to Warren White, an employee of Mr.
Hitch's insurance agency, Nov. 25, 1992. Though Lt. McKinney's notes
indicate Mr. Hitch, when questioned in November 1997, denied selling the
vehicle to Mr. White, MVA records reflect the vehicle was sold to Mr. White
for $1,800.00. Mr. White, when questioned, stated he had paid for the
vehicle using a Bank of Fruitland check, in the amount of approximately
$1,200.00, with Mr. Hitch paying the balance on his behalf. The only check
Mr. White could produce, however, dated Nov. 25, 1992, was in the amount
of $160.00. After a subpoena had been served on the Bank of Fruitland, Mr.
White's bank accounts were searched, but no check could be located made
payable to Mr. Hitch or WINTF in connection with the purchase of this
vehicle. Because Mr. White was paying less than one-half fair market value
for this vehicle, the MVA required him to produce a bill of sale; at Mr.
White's request, Chief Dykes signed the bill of sale which Mr. White then
used to get the vehicle titled in his name.

A second significant irregularity had to do with a 1988 Mercedes, vehicle
#3 in the audit list, seized by the Task Force April 10, 1996, and assigned
by Chief Dykes an appraised value of $10,000.00. No monies are listed by
Chief Dykes as having been received for this vehicle. According to Lt.
McKinney, Oct. 10, 1997, Chief Dykes informed her, in Mr. Hitch's
presence, "You need to talk with Steve, the Mercedes has not been sold and
is sitting on the car lot." According to Lt. McKinney, Mr. Hitch then told
her there were a lot of problems with the vehicle and it had not yet been
sold. However, the next day, MSP Sgt. Joe Branham of the Task Force
contacted the dealership, Bill Creamer's Used Cars in Baltimore, and
determined the vehicle had been sold. The next day, Mr. Hitch informed
investigators the vehicle had been sold "two weeks ago," though he did not
know for how much. On Nov. 13, 1997, the dealership advised the audit
team they had bought the vehicle from Mr. Hitch three months before, for
$4,000.00, and then promptly sold it for $12,000.00. On December 4, 1997,
Mr. Hitch paid the Task Force the sum of $4,000.00 for this vehicle, using
a check drawn on his "rental account." On Feb. 12, 1998, the audit
investigators spoke with William Creamer, of the car dealership, who stated
Mr. Hitch and a business associate, Al Bowling, had come to the dealership
and picked up $4,000.00 in cash over "the summer of 1997," following which
the dealership resold the vehicle for $12,000.00 Aug. 8.

A third irregularity again involves Mr. Hitch's colleague, Al Bowling. The
vehicle in question, identified as #33 in the audit list, was a 1988
Mercury Couger seized July 28, 1988, and assigned an appraised value of
$12,000.00. Chief Dykes fails to indicate any sales monies received for
this vehicle, and there is no record of any related deposit in the WINTF
account. According to the audit report, Mr. Hitch sold this vehicle to
Carroll's Auto Sales for $400.00; a review of MVA records reflected it is
presently registered in the name of Yvonne Ann Burgess, a Baltimore resident.

Audit investigators interviewed Ms. Burgess Jan. 19, 1998. Ms. Burgess
informed the investigators she had been dating Al Bowling approximately 12
years, and Mr. Bowling had given her the car. According to Ms. Burgess,
Mr. Bowling told her the car was a "repo-ed drug car obtained from Steve
Hitch who had access to state police drug cars." Ms. Burgess explained Mr.
Bowling ran a business financing automobile insurance policies and had been
a business associate of Mr. Hitch for many years. Ms. Burgess informed
the investigator Mr. Hitch had previously loaned her another vehicle, a
white Chevrolet Cavalier.

Another irregularity concerns yet another vehicle in whose sale Mr. Bowling
was involved. This vehicle, #7 on the audit list, was a 1989 Honda Prelude
seized by the Task Force November 23, 1994. This vehicle was assigned an
appraised value of $1,500.00, but no sales monies are shown as having been
received. In July of 1995, the vehicle was sold to Alan Bowling for
$500.00, and Aug. 4, 1995, Chief Dykes signed a bill of sale to Mr.
Bowling; Mr. Bowling's niece, Amelia Bowling, is a member of the Salisbury
City police force.

Another impropriety concerns a 1988 Harley Davidson motorcycle, the subject
of local press several weeks ago. This vehicle, listed as #32 on the audit
list, was seized Nov. 9, 1988 and assigned an appraised value of
$15,000.00. No sales monies are shown to have been received in connection
with this vehicle. In 1994, Sgt. Mark Tyler of the City police obtained
an appraisal indicating that, after repairs, the motorcycle was worth
approximately $9,800.00. Sgt. Tyler offered to purchase the motorcycle
for $10,000.00, but his offer was rejected. MVA records reflect the
vehicle was then sold in July of 1994 to William P. Hearne Jr., a business
associate of Mr. Hitch. The vehicle title, signed by Chief Dykes, reflects
a sales price of $3,500.00; however, the WINTF account reflects two
deposits in connection with this vehicle, one for $3,500.00, described as
the purchase price, and the other for $5,000.00, described as a "donation"
from Mr. Hearne. Moreover, it appears Mr. Hitch was for some reason paid a
commission in the amount of $850.00 for the sale of this vehicle, and the
city and/or WINTF paid approximately $1,100.00 for repairs necessary for
the vehicle to pass inspection.

Another disturbing situation revealed by the audit report concerns several
commercials filmed by Mr. Hitch, using public property, to promote his
insurance agency. These commercials were produced by Comcast; a video of
one of the commercials was obtained via a subpoena served on Comcast by the
state's attorney's office. Two Task Force vehicles, vehicle #15 and 16 on
the audit list, were used in one or more of these commercials. (Actually,
vehicle #15, was titled in the name of the city of Salisbury.) According to
audit investigators, Mr. Hitch visited the city range where these vehicles
were kept, and then, with the assistance of city police officer
Klaverweiden, drove the vehicles from the range to Scenic Drive, where a
marked police car awaited them. Mr. Hitch, presumably with the assistance
of Officer Klaverweiden, "staged" an accident involving the two vehicles,
which was filmed for a commercial in which a marked city police car also
appeared. (According to Lt. McKinney, a uniformed city police officer
appeared in the commercial.) Chief Dykes' records reflect no sales monies
received for either vehicle; on Nov. 12, 1997, Mr. Hitch informed
investigators vehicle #16 was at Carroll's, but when investigators visited
that dealership the next day, they found no trace of the vehicle.

Another distressing incident revealed by the audit team was one in which
Mr. Hitch exchanged two Task Force vehicles in return for having the
carpets in his office and home cleaned. The vehicles involved, listed as
#22 and #34 in the audit report, were a 1983 Toyota truck, for which a
$1,200.00 appraised value was assigned, and a 1984 Nissan, for which a
$3,500.00 appraised value was assigned. Chief Dykes' records reflect no
sales monies received for either vehicle, and no deposit to the WINTF
account has been made for either. The investigation revealed both vehicles
were sold to Dan Dougherty, who Mr. Hitch apparently permitted to take
possession of the vehicles under the impression he would be permitted to
buy both for "a couple of hundred dollars each." Subsequently, Mr. Hitch
informed Mr. Daugherty he expected him to pay for the vehicles by providing
$1,000.00 worth of carpet cleaning at Mr. Hitch's office and residence;
when Mr. Dougherty was interviewed in February of this year, he indicated
he still had $200 to work off.

Yet another irregularity uncovered by the audit investigation had to do
with payments collected by Mr. Hitch via checks made payable to "Salisbury
Practical Shooting Supplies." An inquiry to the Maryland State Department
of Assessments and Taxation reveals there is no corporation, partnership or
trade name registered in this state under that name. According to the
audit report, $2,100.00 was given via a "check paid to Salisbury Practical
Shooting Supply" for four vehicles, #'s 9, 10, 13 and 17 on the audit
listing. (Actually, a photocopy of the check shows it was made payable to
"SPSS," from which I infer the officers who wrote the report were familiar
with Salisbury Practical Shooting and its association with the "SPSS"
acronym.) The $2,100.00 never found its way to the WINTF account, despite
the fact Chief Dykes was apparently identified as the "seller," in
connection with the sale of at least one vehicle, vehicle #9 (a 1984
Chevrolet Citation). Another vehicle, a 1989 Dodge Shadow listed as #36 on
the audit list, was purchased by Thompson's Garage for $550.00 April 15,
1997; the check was made payable to "WINTF," but was never deposited in the
WINTF account. According to the audit report, Mr. Hitch acknowledged
receiving the check, but endorsed it "for deposit only" on behalf of
"Practical Shooting."

In reviewing these irregularities and improprieties, I find it
inconceivable they occurred without Chief Dykes' knowledge. But giving
Chief Dykes the benefit of the doubt, and assuming he was ignorant of these
matters, one wonders how he could have overlooked the mismanagement of
responsibilities entrusted to him, where the mismanagement occurred
virtually under his nose and could have been prevented by the most
elementary supervision. Indeed, had Chief Dykes maintained accurate and
complete records of the vehicle transactions, as the Task Force agreement
(not to mention common sense) dictated, he would quickly have discovered
the irregularities.

The conclusion seems inescapable Chief Dykes handled these matters either
corruptly or incompetently. I propose we take prompt action together to
call for Chief Dykes' resignation or, if he will not resign, his suspension
without pay pending the resolution of charges seeking his termination.

I further propose we direct our legal counsel to contact Lt. McKinney to
determine her wishes concerning possible reinstatement. Also,
(particularly since I am informed Mr. Hitch spent the better part of May
12, 13 and 14 at City Police Headquarters, in conference with Chief Dykes),
I strongly urge we instruct our police personnel Mr. Hitch is no longer
authorized to perform services of any kind on behalf of the city.

Finally: As I stated at the outset, I am concerned the city has
precipitously (and I infer without your approval) withdrawn from the
Narcotics Task Force. I am told the reason given for the city's exit was
concern about legal liability for our officers operating in Task Force
activities inside of the city limits. However, since the city has more
than adequate insurance, and since municipal police departments continually
participate in such activities in Task Forces around the state, I find the
asserted reason unconvincing, and most candidly state I suspect the real
reason for our sudden flight likely was the desire to avoid bad press.

Personally, though I have not yet had an opportunity to assess the Task
Force's general effectiveness, I am under the impression the city is
probably well-served by continued participation in the Task Force, and
would propose we immediately correspond with other Task Force members to
hold in abeyance the withdrawal initiated by Chief Dykes and Mr. Eaton.

Checked-by: Richard Lake