POLICIES IN PLACE TO TRACK DRUG FUND MONEY

BEAUFORT - Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck said strict policies for
documenting and tracking drug fund money have been in place since he
took on the job nearly four years ago.

"When I first came into office I implemented a policy to track and
document every dollar spent in our drug fund," he said.

Buck was elected sheriff in November 2006, moving from deputy to take
on the post held for 20 years by former Sheriff Ralph Thomas Jr., who
retired. Buck said he can't speak to how drug funds were administered
before his administration but said that he saw a lack of documentation
that needed to be corrected.

Drug fund or otherwise, Buck said all spending from his office should
be accounted for.

"It's taxpayer money being spent, and it needs to be documented like
anything else in county government," he said.

Buck stressed his commitment to documenting all spending by the
sheriff's office in the wake of this week's charges against Thomas and
a former deputy alleging they and unnamed co-conspirators stole
federal funds intended for covert drug investigations.

Thomas, 60, of Beaufort, and Christopher Cozart, 35, of Morehead City
are accused of illegally taking more than $5,000 and putting the drug
funds to personal use, according to criminal information filed March 8
in U.S. District Court.

"It is inappropriate for elected officials and those in positions of
public trust to use funds for their own personal gain," stated United
States Attorney George E.B. Holding in a Friday news release regarding
the charges. "This is a breach of public trust. We continue to make
these cases a top priority of this office and will continue to
prosecute them." Investigation of the case was conducted by the
Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigative Division.

The division uses its financial expertise to support federal
investigations of public corruption, officials said.

"Violating public trust cannot and will not be tolerated. We will work
to ensure that those who hold these positions remain honest," said
IRS-CID Special Agent in Charge Jeannine A. Hammett via the news
release. Buck said he wants public confidence in the spending by his
office, and he feels written documentation helps to provide that.

He said the drug fund includes a combination of county, state and
federal funds that are used to further drug investigations. That
typically involves money used for undercover drug buys.

When funds are needed, Buck said a request is made to the county
finance office, which issues a check that either he or the chief
deputy are authorized to cash and transfer to the sheriff office drug
unit. Those funds are kept secured until needed in an investigation,
and any funds spent are kept track of on written reports.

Buck said monthly reports are filed, and monthly and a yearly report
is shared with the finance office.

Buck said the information provided includes the financial information
without jeopardizing the confidentiality of informants. Along with
designated county funds, the sheriff's office receives drug
investigation money from the state through the Department of Revenue's
unauthorized substance tax and a federal program that shares revenues
from seized money and vehicles from drug deals.