MERRIMACK POLICE TO LET CRIMINALS DO HEAVY LIFTING

MERRIMACK -- The town's police station will soon have a new fitness center
- -- and it will be paid for by drug dealers, not taxpayers.

On Thursday, selectmen voted unanimously to release $27,015 from the town's
deferred revenue fund, where money accumulated through drug-related
seizures is deposited.

Combined with a $1,985 grant from Crimeline, a local crime tip telephone
line, the funds will renovate an on-site gym and build two storage sheds at
the rear of the police station.

According to Deputy Chief Paul Stavenger, who presented the idea to
selectmen, the existing gym is "dingy" and has no fresh air. The new
facility, he said, will help the police force reach physical fitness
standards that officers hired after Jan. 1, 2001, must maintain.

Two of Merrimack's 36 full-time and 15 part-time officers must satisfy the
requirements, he said.

"Why not let the drug dealers pay for it," said Stavenger.

Before the money was withdrawn, the deferred revenue fund had $63,000, town
spokesman Heather Anderson said.

The money came from various drug-related investigations, Stavenger said,
noting that the federal Comprehensive Crime Control Act allows towns to
keep proceeds from the sale of seized assets.

The law allows police to seize property directly related to the sale,
manufacture or distribution of illegal drugs, Stavenger explained, adding
that a vehicle would not be seized if someone was caught with a small
quantity of drugs.

"Just because you catch someone smoking a joint in a car, no," he said,
explaining that drug dealers are the targets, not small offenders. "That's
not what we're interested in doing.

"You just can't go out willy-nilly seizing property . . . It's got to go
through a legitimate process," he said, adding that seizures are conducted
through the U.S. Marshal's Office.

When a police department seizes a vehicle it has a choice, Stavenger said.
A vehicle can be sold at state auction with the local department keeping
the proceeds, or the department can keep the vehicle for undercover operations.

The bulk of the money in Merrimack's account is the result of a federal
drug bust that culminated a two-year investigation initiated by an
undercover Merrimack narcotics officer in 1993, Stavenger said.

The Merrimack officer, the deputy chief said, came across information in a
local hotel which was passed to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The
information led to an investigation that spanned the East Coast, including
Florida, Georgia and New Jersey.

Federal drug trafficking charges were brought forward against several
people, and property, vehicles and cash were seized, Stavenger said.

The Merrimack Police Department received a percentage of the seizure's
proceeds because of its assistance in the investigation.

Merrimack police have seized a number of cars over the last 15 years that
have been used by the department and sold at auction when they were no
longer useful, said Stavenger.

Three or four years ago, Merrimack police seized a Cessna aircraft, but had
no use for it so it was sold at auction, he said.