TBI INVESTIGATES BRUCE LEVY TO SEE IF HE STOLE DRUGS OFF BODIES

Tennessee agents are investigating whether the state's suspended
medical examiner stole drugs from bodies.

The probe comes after Dr. Bruce Levy's Mississippi arrest on felony
marijuana charges.

Davidson County will review upcoming criminal cases in which Levy
performed autopsies, looking for discrepancies.

It's unclear how many he's handled recently, Davidson County District
Attorney Torry Johnson said Thursday, because Levy's employees
frequently did the hands-on work while their boss handled
administration.

Johnson said the way marijuana found in Levy's Ridgeland, Miss., hotel
room was packaged made investigators suspect it came from one of
Levy's cases.

Levy, 49, could be charged if the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
uncovers missing evidence, but it's too early to tell.

"The audit is to check if some evidence is unaccounted for," Johnson
said. "We've got to make sure. The audit will be done sooner rather
than later. It's unfortunate for Dr. Levy and his family. I found him
to be highly competent, highly professional."

Levy, state and Metro Nashville medical examiner since his appointment
in 1998, was on the stand for important cases, including testifying
for Tennessee in favor of lethal injections for death row inmates. His
arrest casts doubt on his testimony, federal public defender Stephen
Kissinger said.

"When people engage in illegal activity, no matter whether you think
if (use of marijuana) is a bad law or good law, it upsets people who
enforce those laws," Kissinger said.

The medical examiner was arrested Tuesday after Mississippi Bureau of
Narcotics agents said they uncovered a courier service package of
marijuana bound for Levy, who was in town to testify in a court case.
That package plus what they later found in his hotel room totaled an
ounce and a half, and Levy was charged with felony marijuana possession.

TBI Plans to Investigate

Levy's Nashville attorney, David Raybin, said he met with his client
Thursday, and the charge wouldn't have been a felony had the same bust
happened in Tennessee. He said Levy had no comment.

Levy's two forensics companies held contracts with Tennessee,
Mississippi and Metro Nashville, and all immediately suspended those.
On Thursday the Tennessee Department of Health named Dr. Teresa
Campbell, director of the division of forensic pathology at East
Tennessee State University, acting state medical examiner.

TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said agents will investigate the medical
examiner's system of logging evidence. Police don't typically involve
themselves in natural deaths or catalog items found on those bodies.

"A body can have car keys, drugs, a weapon," Helm said. "We are
looking at how evidence is tracked and disposed of. We're looking at
the protocol."

Other Counties Involved

In his role as state medical examiner, Levy performed autopsies for
several counties outside Nashville. Officials in some said they didn't
expect the changeover to have a dramatic effect on criminal cases or
autopsies.

"There may be some problems, but I think the organization was working
OK and he had enough help," said District Attorney Tommy Thompson, who
oversees prosecutions in five Middle Tennessee counties, including
Wilson.

"I was worried to death back in the latter part of Harlan, and we got
through that," Thompson said, referring to Levy's predecessor, former
state medical examiner Charles Harlan, whose medical license was
revoked for misconduct.

Department of Health spokeswoman Andrea Turner said there are no
previous records of complaints or discipline involving Levy.