STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRACTOR LINKED TO DRUGS

TALLAHASSEE- A man implicated two decades ago in a Bahamian drug
smuggling ring has been hired by the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement to help create a 13-state anti-terrorism network being
launched with $4 million in Justice Department funding.

Millionaire Hank Asher of Boca Raton, a friend of recently retired
FDLE Director James "Tim" Moore and a major political contributor, was
never charged with drug smuggling. He served as an informant and
witness in several trials and was identified by other FDLE informants
as someone who provided police protection for smuggling operations.

Interim FDLE head Daryl McLaughlin called Friday for complete
assessment of Asher's background, saying previous checks were inadequate.

"You have told me stuff we didn't know," McLaughlin told the St.
Petersburg Times for its Saturday editions. "We should know more about
a company we are doing business with."

Asher's first company, DBT Online Inc., bought him out for $147
million in 1999 after the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration
suspended its contracts over Asher's past and concerns that the
company could potentially monitor targets of investigations.

Asher has not charged the FDLE for many of his services, McLaughlin
said. Technology from his company, Seisint Inc., has been demonstrated
for Vice President Dick Cheney and Gov. Jeb Bush.

Documents filed by prosecutors in Chicago identified Asher as a pilot
and former smuggler who lived in the Bahamas near a small airport once
used by smugglers.

A call for comment Saturday to an FDLE spokeswoman was not immediately
returned.

A $1.6 million contract with the FDLE calls on Seisint to participate
in Matrix, a pilot program with Justice funding that is designed to
allow agencies in 13 states to exchange sensitive information on
terrorism and other crime suspects.

Matrix, short for Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange, is
intended to improve the exchange of information among federal, state
and local law enforcement agencies.

The participating states are Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, Ohio and Utah.

Seisint President Paul Cameron said he was unaware of Asher's drug-
related past. He said Asher was on a fishing trip and could not be
reached for comment.

Martha Barnett, former president of the American Bar Association and a
member of Seisint's board of directors, said she had heard of past
allegations about Asher but called him "a creative genius" in
information technology.

"The truth is it's not about Hank Asher any more," she said. "He's
come up with a terribly important product."

The FBI issued a commendation to Seisint last year for "exceptional
services in the public interest." The Secret Service awarded a
certificate of appreciation to the company for its contributions to
law enforcement. Supercomputers power its Seisint's Accurint database
service, which it says offers "deeper and more comprehensive" searches
than its competitors.

Asher has donated more than $735,000 to political parties and
candidates in the past five years, including $505,000 to Democrats.