FOR SHERIFF'S OFFICE, CRIME DOES PAY

The Sheriff's Office stands to receive nearly $160,000 from the
ill-gotten assets seized by federal authorities this year.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa announced this week that it
recovered more than $19-million in cash and property during fiscal
year 2008. Of that, some $8-million was distributed to local law
enforcement agencies.

Forfeiture laws allow law enforcement to seize assets, including cash,
houses and cars, that are acquired criminally. They commonly target
drug traffickers and money launderers.

That's the case in Pasco, where grow houses and other drug crimes
often result in assets being forfeited.

Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, said federal
authorities share the assets with agencies who work on the cases.

"They try to base it on the workload," Cole said.

He did not know the specific cases that yielded the cash influx, but
during the last year, Pasco authorities crossed paths with federal
agencies numerous times.

In November 2007, a rifle stolen from a Pasco deputy's cruiser turned
up in a federal sting at an electronics store in Seffner in which more
than 200 people were arrested.

The next month, former Pasco High football standout Troy Hambrick was
indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of selling crack
cocaine near his Lacoochee home. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced
to five years in prison.

In February, county and federal agents raided an upscale home on
Tarragon Lane in Magnolia Estates and found cocaine, narcotic pills
and drug paraphernalia. The homeowner was arrested.

Narcotics detectives throughout the county busted a slew of grow
houses - laboratories for growing and processing marijuana. Depending
on the size of the operation, those cases often end up in the federal
system.

Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll said the agency has a special
fund for forfeiture money, and it's typically spent on items that fall
outside the normal equipment that local taxpayers expect their money
to buy.

In the past, he said, that has included things like speed trailers
posted in neighborhoods that show drivers their speed on a digital
screen, as well as trucks for the Citizens Service Unit volunteers.

"It's just a way for us to fund some of those projects through the
illegal activities of the criminals," Doll said.