ECSTASY BUSTS NAB FIREFIGHTERS

Two Miramar firefighters have been arrested on drug charges and
suspended from their jobs. Other firefighters may be involved in the
investigation.

Two Miramar firefighters have been arrested on drug charges after one
of them admitted to selling Ecstasy to seven other firefighters, and
said the drugs were used during rave parties.

Lt. Carey Kovacs, 29, and Capt. Valentin Srbovan, 37, were arrested
this week as part of an ongoing DEA investigation. When agents
searched Kovacs' home in the 200 block of Magnolia Avenue in Davie
Thursday, they found one gram of cocaine, one bottle and 12 packaged
doses of steroids, 20 Ecstasy pills and two other controlled
substances for which he had no prescription.

Kovacs, a six-year veteran of Miramar Fire Rescue, told investigators
he routinely sold Ecstasy, a mood-altering drug with psychedelic and
stimulant effects, to seven Miramar firefighters and used the drugs
with them during rave parties he hosted, according to an arrest
report. He said he purchased the anabolic steroids from another
Miramar firefighter, whose name was not released.

Kovacs was charged with possession with intent to sell MDMA, also
known as Ecstasy, and possession of cocaine, steroids and two
controlled drugs, promethazine and methocarbamol, without a
prescription. He faces up to 26 years in prison.

Srbovan, a native of Yugoslavia and 15-year veteran of the fire
department, was arrested Friday after agents searched his home in the
5000 block of Southwest 128th Avenue in Miramar. They found 20 tablets
of Ecstasy hidden inside a chair in his bedroom, according to an
arrest report.

He is charged with possession of MDMA, and faces up to five years in
prison.

Roommate Arrested

Kovacs' roommate, Charles Dixon, 33, was also arrested Thursday after
agents found 18 tablets of Ecstasy and nine tablets of the narcotic
hydrocodone in his bedroom, an arrest report said. He is charged with
trafficking in hydrocodone and possession of MDMA.

Dixon was being held at Broward County Jail Saturday on $100,000 bond,
and faces up to 35 years in prison. He has past arrests and
convictions for insurance claim fraud, giving a false crime report and
carrying a weapon, records show.

Both firefighters appeared in court, according to the DEA. Kovacs was
released from jail on $6,500 bond. Srbovan was released on $1,000
bond. They have been suspended with pay pending a Miramar Fire Rescue
and police deparment internal investigation, said Miramar Fire Rescue
Division Chief Dennis Matty.

''Our department is in shock,'' said James Hunt, head of Miramar Fire
Rescue. ``[Firefighters] like to know that everyone that's with them
is not in any kind of altered mood that would not make them safe to
work with at a scene. They want to know that the people who work
beside them on a scene are completely competent.''

Hunt said other Miramar firefighters would be suspended if they are
found to be involved.

The DEA did not release any names or details about other Miramar
firefighters.

The case echoes a similar one that shook the department in 1990, when
a drug scandal left it struggling to repair its image. A paramedic was
accused of trying to pay an undercover police officer for two grams of
cocaine at a gas station, which set off an investigation of the
department that led to other arrests.

On The Job

Hunt said he had no knowledge of either Kovacs or Srbovan ever having
been under the influence of drugs while at work. He said they were
good employees who performed their jobs well.

The two firefighters worked the same shift, but at different
stations.

''I've never heard of anything like this in the fire service,'' Hunt
said.

The DEA started an investigation in January that led them to Kovacs'
and Srbovan's homes, but they did not know the men were firefighters
when the investigation began, said Jeannette Moran, a DEA
spokeswoman.

Neither Kovacs nor Srbovan could be reached for comment
Saturday.