EX-CHIEF PLEADS NO CONTEST TO DRUG COUNT

Sentencing for Don Able, who is the former chief of police in Collinsville,
is scheduled for July 17.

Former Collinsville Police Chief Don Abel pleaded no contest Tuesday to a
charge of distributing a controlled drug to a former dispatcher two years
ago.

Sentencing for Abel, 58, is set for July 17.

Tulsa District Judge Ned Turnbull made no finding of guilt.

He ordered Abel, who remains free on bail, to perform 80 hours of community
service and directed the Department of Corrections to conduct a background
report.

Assistant District Attorney Larry Edwards will recommend a two-year sentence.

Defense attorney Everett Bennett said he expects Abel to receive a deferred
sentence, in which the case would be dismissed with no conviction if Abel
followed the requirements of a two-year probation.

Abel was charged in August 1996 with delivering ephedrine to Cherry Fifer,
a Collinsville dispatcher from 1989 until 1992.

Abel -- then police chief of Collinsville -- was arrested June 26, 1996, at
the Saratoga Motor Hotel, 10117 E. 11th St.

At a preliminary hearing, Fifer said Abel appeared "in full uniform" for a
rendezvous at the Tulsa motel.

She testified that on several occasions Abel had mentioned the idea of
exchanging drugs for sex.

Fifer said Abel handed her two small plastic bags before FBI agents entered
the room and arrested him.

No sexual activity occurred, she said.

Bennett maintained Tuesday that Abel went to the motel for "strictly law
enforcement" purposes.

Abel did not go there to have a sexual encounter and did "not intend to
deliver a controlled substance," Bennett said.

Abel was suspended from duty by the Collinsville City Commission in July
1996 before being fired as police chief three months later.

Turnbull previously denied a motion to dismiss the charge, based on
Bennett's contention that ephedrine is "commonly sold over the counter" for
legitimate use.

At a 1996 preliminary hearing, a police chemist indicated that the
ephedrine detected in powdery contents tested in this case was not in the
tablet or dosage form associated with an over-the-counter drug.

Ephedrine was originally approved as an asthma fighter and has been
marketed as producing euphoria, increased sexual awareness and enhanced
athletic performance.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)