THE HIGH LIFE ON DRUG CASH

Port authority spends bust money on vehicles, gym gear, and a desk

It's been hailed as an effective weapon in the drug war: Seize the cash,
cars, and boats of drug dealers and give the proceeds to local police to
help stop drug trafficking.

But at the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, it hasn't always worked out
that way.

Federal drug-fund money has been used by port officials to buy a $26,500
sport utility vehicle for the director of Toledo Express Airport, $20,000 in
exercise equipment to outfit a gym for airport police, and a $2,226 desk for
the downtown office of the president of the port authority.

And then there's the $279 bill to clean a urine-stained carpet at an airport
police officer's home after Buster, the airport's drug-sniffing dog, had an
accident.

Port officials approved these expenses even though U.S. Department of
Justice guidelines on the spending of such seized drug assets state:
``Priority should be given to supporting community police activities,
training, and law enforcement operations calculated to result in further
seizures and forfeitures.''

Just two of the 13 officers at Toledo Express are qualified to participate
in drug raids.

Mark Fisher, chief of the airport police, defends the spending, saying the
use of the drug-forfeiture money means drug dealers, not taxpayers, foot the
bill.

``We're not using taxpayers' money, and we have one of the best equipped
departments around - and that's a good thing,'' he said.

Airport officials do use drug-fund money to directly detect and fight drug
trafficking at Toledo Express Airport.

In 1996, the drug fund paid $10,600 to unspecified informants Mr. Fisher
says helped build cases against drug dealers.

That year, a local drug-fighting task force, which includes the two airport
officers, seized 16 pounds of marijuana and $60,970 in cash, and made one
arrest at the airport.

In 1997, the task force confiscated $34,203 in cash, 65 pounds of marijuana,
7.5 pounds of cocaine, and 3 pounds of heroin at the airport. Five arrests
were made at the airport.

But despite those results, Terry Parham, a spokesman for the Drug
Enforcement Administration in Washington, questioned some of the spending
from the port authority drug fund.

He expressed shock at the $2,226 cost to the drug fund to buy a desk for
James Hartung, the president of the port authority, which is responsible for
the airport's operations.

``A desk that costs that much? Wow!'' he exclaimed. ``I'm not familiar with
anything furniture-wise that would cost that much.''

Mr. Parham said the priority for drug-fund spending should be halting the
flow of drugs, not furnishing offices and supplying cars to those with
nothing to do with law enforcement.

Mr. Fisher said the desk the drug fund bought for Mr. Hartung was just a way
to pay the port authority back for handling legal issues and accounting
functions for the airport police.

Mr. Hartung, who is paid $120,000 a year, this week sought to deflect
questions about the purchase of the desk. He released a statement Thursday
stating that he had returned the desk and ``credited'' the $2,226 to the
drug fund.

But port authority financial records show the money was not returned to the
drug fund until Thursday, after a reporter began to raise questions about
the desk.

A police department can use drug-fund money to pay a parent agency for
handling such things as the payroll of officers, the department of justice
guidelines say. But in such cases, a strict accounting should be kept of the
costs for the police use of the payroll system.

The port has not kept track of such costs, Mr. Fisher said.

Federal regulations ban non-law-enforcement personnel from using cars and
trucks bought with drug forfeiture funds, but that didn't stop Mark VanLoh,
airport director, from regularly driving home a $26,500 Ford Explorer bought
with drug funds in 1995.

Mr. VanLoh at first defended his use of the vehicle, saying it is available
for airport police officers to use in drug raids, even when parked in his
driveway. But after being questioned by a reporter last week, he stopped
driving it.

He said that although he has been the primary user of the Explorer, he
thinks airport police used the vehicle several times a month. He said he
didn't document when police took the vehicle and could not cite a single
instance when it was used during a drug bust.

Nevertheless, he said, the purchase was a legitimate expense from the
airport's drug fund because police always had access to the auto.

``My airport committee approved my use of the vehicle,'' Mr. VanLoh said.
``The port authority's board approved this, and at that time it was great
because it saved tax money.''

Federal guidelines on the use of seized assets ban the ``use of a shared
vehicle or other forfeited tangible property by non-law-enforcement
personnel for non-law-enforcement business.''

The penalties for violating the rules governing the use of drug-forfeiture
money can be steep.

Violations can result in criminal prosecutions or in an agency's being
barred from continuing to receive drug-forfeiture funds. Agencies can be
required to pay back money used for impermissible purposes.

The appropriateness of the purchase of the Ford Explorer Mr. VanLoh has
driven would hinge on whether he is considered law-enforcement personnel,
said Diane Martin, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration in Washington.

Each year, airport police receive a portion of the money confiscated locally
during drug busts. The money is divvied among local police agencies
according to their participation in drug-enforcement activity.

Last year, the airport's take of the drug-forfeiture money was $32,000 and
the year before that $118,000. The port's drug fund had a balance of $71,600
at the end of 1997.

The Explorer Mr. VanLoh drove was one of two bought in October, 1995, at a
cost of $26,500 each from a Dayton car dealer. Mr. Fisher, the chief of
airport police, said he uses the other vehicle for his personal commute and
law-enforcement purposes.

The agency bought the Explorers from a Dayton car dealer and not a Toledo
dealership because the purchases were made through a state-approved vehicle
supplier, said Holly Stacy, a spokeswoman for the port authority.

In 1996, the airport's drug fund also bought three new Crown Victorias at a
cost of $18,200 each. Mr. Fisher said those cars are used for
law-enforcement purposes, although one of his officers is allowed to use one
of the cars for his personal commute.

Drug-fund money also has been used to set up a weight-training room for use
by airport police officers at the airport's safety building.

Airport police spent $20,561 to purchase a treadmill, a stationary bicycle,
a step machine, a rowing machine, an abdominal fitness machine, and
weight-lifting equipment.

Mr. Fisher said the exercise equipment is needed to keep his officers in
shape. ``I'm not going to spend money on anything illegitimate,'' he said.

To Mr. Fisher, the $50,000 expansion of the airport's safety building, the
$11,150 rifle range, and the $20,000 in exercise equipment the drug fund
bought help his officers perform at peak levels.

Last year, drug money bought for the airport a video security system that
cost $8,082 and a card printer that cost $6,000 for an identification
system.

Federal guidelines allow the purchase of ``law-enforcement equipment, such
as body armor, firearms, radios, cellular telephones, and computers,'' with
drug-forfeiture money.

Another beneficiary of airport drug-fund money has been Buster, the
airport's drug-sniffing Labrador retriever.

Besides paying the carpet-cleaning bill at the home of his handler, Dan
Stout, drug funds paid the $370 bill to make baseball-type trading cards
that feature Buster on the front. The cards are handed out to local
children.

And the drug fund paid $547 for a device that automatically rolls down the
window of the car Buster rides in to prevent him from overheating on sunny
days.

Also, when Buster got into a fight with another dog, the drug fund picked up
his veterinarian bills.

``Buster and Officer Daniel Stout, his handler, are a great asset in the
fight against drugs,'' Mr. Fisher said.

``Buster has been involved in various drug seizures which have resulted in
numerous arrests, taking over a million dollars worth of drugs off the
street.''

Mr. Parham, the DEA spokesman, still wonders about the priorities of the
airport police.

``I don't know if we have anything that would prohibit airport police from
redirecting their drug funds, but we try to get them not to do it,'' he
said.

© Copyright 1998 The Blade.