DRUG SCREEN FRAUD GOES UNDETECTED

S.C. Man Accused Of Accepting Bribes

CHARLESTON (AP) - A lab assistant charged with taking money to cover
up urine test results has highlighted the state's lack of oversight
of drug-test screeners. Neal Lamar Holmes, 41, of Charleston, was
arrested last month on a charge of obstructing justice. He is accused
of taking $90 total from two undercover agents to give clean test results.

Authorities say it was not the first time Holmes had asked for money
to alter tests. They believe he conducted at least hundreds of drug
tests for the U.S. Probation Office and the U.S. District Court in
Charleston during his three years as a drug screener.

Authorities concede they have no way of knowing how many of those
results are potentially tainted.

If convicted, Holmes faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine. He has not yet entered a plea.

If his employer at a North Charleston drug screening lab had been
required to conduct a thorough background check, Holmes might never
have gotten the job. His employer did not, partly because he also
worked for North Charleston's Municipal Court.

"One would think that if someone would be a constable of the court,
that someone would be trustworthy," said Heather Harrington,
president of the Alternatives Life Improvement Center, where Holmes
used to work. But Holmes' arrest record between 1981 and 1996 shows
he was convicted twice for shoplifting and once for writing a bad
check, according to State Law Enforcement Division records.

While some believe the arrest should send employers a wake-up call to
be more vigilant, others say the state might need to get involved.
"Drug testing is a serious business," said Jean Hamon, manager of Low
Country Drug Screening in North Charleston. "People's lives are
determined by the outcome of a drug test."

The state should at least require that anyone who collects urine
specimens in South Carolina be certified by a nationally recognized
clinical organization, said Ruth DeHaven, director of St. Andrew
Medical Center, which conducts urine screens.She said attempts to
pass dirty urine are common. She recently rejected a sample that a
client laced with bleach in an attempt to cover up his marijuana use.
Others have tried passing off watered-down Mountain Dew as a urine
sample, or bought urine substitutes on the Internet, she said.