SOURCES: ACCUSED AGENT A ALCOHOLIC

By The Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) A federal drug agent accused of killing a colleague while in
a drunken stupor had a long history of alcohol abuse, agency sources told a
newspaper.

Drug Enforcement Administration agent Richard A. Fekete, 55, underwent
psychological and alcohol abuse counseling three times in his 33year
career, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.

The latest counseling came in January 1995, just weeks after Fekete's wife
accused him of abuse that included drinking binges, violence, threats and
holding his weapon to her head and the head of the family dog.

Fekete was treated for eight weeks under the DEA's employee assistance program.

He is jailed without bond on a firstdegree murder count, charged with
shooting agent Shaun Curl six times. Curl was shot Friday night as he was
driving Fekete home from a holiday party because Fekete was too drunk to
drive.

According to DEA sources, internal charges brought against Fekete in 1995
could have meant losing his job, but his wife refused to pursue the matter.

The DEA plans an internal inquiry of both Fekete and his supervisors once
the criminal investigation is completed.

Fekete was demoted over a brawl in 1979 with Camden, N.J., police officers
but was reinstated two years later when an administrative hearing officer
decided the incident was fabricated by a corrupt cop.

In another incident, Fekete fatally shot a cook wielding two knives during
an argument with another employee at an outdoor cafe near Philadelphia in
1987. Fekete consumed 11 beers as a patron before the shooting. His action
was ruled justifiable.

``The job was his passion,'' his estranged wife, Leigh Ann Fekete, 36, told
the SunSentinel in Fort Lauderdale for Wednesday's editions. The couple
separated last summer and filed for divorce on Nov. 25.