ACCUSER'S LIES KILLED CAREER OF TEACHER MORE THAN POT HABIT

Roger Payne got a raw deal.

He was an excellent math teacher at Wauwatosa East High School for 25
years. Two of my kids were in his classes, and they say he was the
school's best teacher.

Payne also was a marijuana smoker on his own time. It's mildly
illegal, yes, and I doubt it would help most of us explain algebraic
equations the next morning. But millions of otherwise productive adults use it.

If you follow local news, you also heard he was a drug dealer with
large amounts of money around the house, that he hosted drug parties
for underage people and former students, that he provided cocaine and
magic mushrooms, that he made unwanted sexual advances, and that he
owned possible child porn.

A young man who broke into Payne's condo in Pewaukee told police many
of these things. The police then passed the allegations along to the
media before they could be investigated. And the media spread them on
newsprint, radio, television and the Internet.

The problem was that these more damning claims were false.

Eventually, Payne was charged and convicted of possessing pot and pot
pipes, and with obstructing police by first claiming the thief had
stolen cash rather than drugs.

That's it. None of the other stuff held up.

But the damage was done. Payne was suspended from his job in November
and later lost it for good, though "not for misconduct connected with
his work," the severance agreement states.

Fair Shake From Prosecutors

Payne was too muddied up by the shocking claims to remain in the
classroom. But his family and friends stood solidly behind him, and
students rallied with "Free Mr. Payne" Internet posts.

Payne, 48, hopes to do some substitute teaching, but his career and
reputation are in tatters. He's living off savings and unemployment
checks, and he'll likely have to sell his condo. He shaved his beard
and wears his hair longer now so he's not recognized in public.

After serving a 15-day jail sentence last month, Payne wrote me a
long e-mail explaining everything that had happened. We also talked
at his home last week, the only time we've ever met beyond a few
parent-teacher conferences at Tosa East.

"I don't think I'll ever get a regular job again with all this
publicity. It's still on the Internet. If I was working for a
district, they can Google my name and see all that," he said.

Payne thinks he got a fair shake from the Waukesha County district
attorney and the court. He was charged with misdemeanors for what he
actually did wrong, and nothing more. Four months of investigation
failed to find evidence of the other allegations.

"There were never any drug sales, parties, coke, mushrooms or illegal
porn. The four videos (seized by police in a search that left Payne's
home in shambles) were purchased at local stores and had
manufacturers' labels on them," Payne said.

News reports kept saying Payne had a quarter pound of pot, but it was
closer to 2 1/2 ounces. He said he got it in quantities that large so
he wouldn't have to buy it so often. There was other pot found, but
Payne called it "scraps, very small amounts of old pot that any
stoner keeps for emergency."

Stoner, by the way, was a word some students whispered about Payne
because he had many images from Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead and other
rock albums in his classroom. But that was just his style.

And the money?

"$6,100 belonged to my roommate, a 39-year-old hardworking,
non-partying Texan who doesn't like banks. In December the police
called him and later returned the cash to him, and my $300 also was
returned," he said.

The roommate, Robert Longoria, confirmed this was true.

Taking Responsibility

Payne's downfall can be traced to the day seven years ago when he met
a student who had been expelled from Waukesha North High School.
Payne had a contract with the district to teach kids who were out of
the classroom for any reason.

When that student reached adulthood, he and Payne became friends,
hanging out and smoking pot.

The former student's felon brother also was in the picture. He and
Payne had conflicts, and the man threatened Payne that he would "take
you down." It was he who broke into Payne's condo last November and
stole marijuana.

Payne reported the burglary to police, but said it was cash rather
than drugs that was stolen. Once caught, the guy gave the pot to
police. Payne then admitted it was his.

"On Dec. 1, the media storm hit. I was as shocked as everyone else,
since I didn't know about the false allegations. The police and media
made (the accuser) look like a hero and a victim, and made me look
like a menace to society," Payne said.

The thief was never charged with the break-in. Payne was the bigger
fish to catch.

Defense lawyer Steve Kohn, who represented Payne, said he doesn't
understand why the City of Pewaukee police released all the
unsubstantiated claims against Payne. But we in the media were not
about to turn down the information.

The reality here, Kohn said, was an outstanding teacher with a
habitual relationship to marijuana. "It's only when the lies are
thrown in that the story becomes the story the media is interested in."

Indeed my own newspaper, in an article last month about Payne's
sentencing, trotted out the bogus allegations yet again.

Payne takes responsibility for his own actions. He decided whom to
associate with. He fudged the report of the break-in. He smoked pot
since he was 16, and thinks it should be legalized.

"In my mind, I don't think it's a big deal, and I think people
shouldn't care. But I know that's not the way it works in society," he said.

"I just feel I've been punished very severely, considering the circumstances."