$150,646 GOES FROM NEW HANOVER SHERIFF'S OFFICE TO SCHOOLS

New Hanover County Schools will receive an additional $150,646 in
forfeited money from the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office,
officials say. The funds are seized money that authorities now suspect
should have gone to the schools in the first place.

Sheriff Ed McMahon's announcement on Tuesday means that in the past
two months he has pulled $323,529.15 from his office's budget and
given it to the schools.

All the money was seized by sheriff's deputies in criminal
investigations and then forfeited to the sheriff's office by way of
court orders signed by local judges between the fall of 2005 early
2009.

McMahon said the decision to forward more money will strain his budget
this year, but he thinks it's the best outcome for everyone involved.

The sheriff's office will work closely with New Hanover County
District Attorney's Office so all future forfeitures are handled in
the best manner possible, McMahon said.

While a federal forfeiture process does allow law enforcement agencies
to put assets seized in drug cases back into drug enforcement, McMahon
said, the office didn't use that process in some cases, and is now
paying the price.

The forfeitures, which are now going to the schools, include some drug
cases, but also resulted from investigations into gambling, pirated
DVD's, and illegal lending, according to the sheriff's office.

Gambling and beyond

McMahon's decision comes after a StarNews inquiry into the sheriff's
office's handling of forfeitures, primarily related to gambling
investigations.

The newspaper asked questions after a defendant, who is awaiting trial
on video poker charges, accused deputies of taking more money from her
home and businesses than they have said.

McMahon has said all of the money seized in the case, which has been
pending since the fall of 2005, is being held for trial.

As a result of the newspaper's inquiry into that case, the sheriff's
office has acknowledged it originally miscounted some of the money.

Also, McMahon said he tightened procedures for documenting seized
money on the inventories deputies file with the court clerk's office
after conducting a search.

The stories about forfeiture also prompted a StarNews reader to point
out that the North Carolina Constitution requires money forfeited
through the state judicial system to go to the schools. An expert with
the UNC School of Government in Chapel Hill agreed with that
interpretation.

Soon after, the New Hanover County School Board asked for the
forfeited money, and McMahon committed to reviewing the issue.

At first, he looked at gambling cases, an area where state law didn't
clarify the constitution's requirement that forfeitures go to the schools.

In January, McMahon decided to give $172,883.15 of forfeited money,
primarily money from gambling cases, to the schools. Tuesday's
decision brings money from the office's other forfeitures also handled
in the state system.

Before reaching his decision, McMahon said, he consulted with numerous
outside officials including the N.C. Sheriff's Association and the
N.C. Attorney General's Office.

"Anything I think can possibly go to the schools, I want to go to the
schools," McMahon said.

Still, he said, it's difficult financially.

McMahon intends for all of the money given to the school district to
come out of this year's sheriff's office budget, and he plans to do
that without reducing services. Federal guidelines, he said, prevent
him from using any money forfeited through the federal process to pay
the schools.

McMahon said the office will ride out the loss in part because he has
been cutting costs since taking office in July. That process has
included eliminating some positions that have opened up after
retirements, he said. The office had enough money on hand to cover the
first payment, McMahon said, though the second payment to the schools
will be more difficult.

McMahon said if he has to ask the county for more money later in the
year, he will, but he also said he hopes that won't be necessary.

Elizabeth Redenbaugh of the county school board said school officials
don't yet know how the money will be spent. She also said she's
surprised the money didn't go to the schools when it was originally
forfeited, but that she's pleased with how McMahon is handling the
situation.

"Clearly it's a complicated issue," Redenbaugh said. "Now that
everybody understands what needs to happen, hopefully going forward
that won't be a problem."