POLICE SPEND DRUG CASH

In the midst of the state's worsening budget crisis, the Contra Costa County
Sheriff's Office is buying a new $1 million helicopter -- courtesy of the
county's drug dealers.

The Sheriff's Office has saved its share of seized drug proceeds during the
past few years and now has enough to pay for the high-tech, crime-fighting
chopper.

"It's just nice to see that sometimes the crooks can give something back,"
Sheriff's Office Capt. Steve Fuqua said.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the East Bay, with no other way to buy
needed equipment in these lean times, appreciate more than ever the state
law that allows them to confiscate and spend illicit drug money.

If prosecutors can prove in court that the seized cash comes from the sale
or manufacture of illegal drugs, the money goes into public coffers, with
half the proceeds going to the lead investigating agencies.

Police departments may spend their portion on enforcement of drug laws or
equipment to help that cause. Funds cannot be used to hire more police
officers or to pay for items that are already included in an agency's
budget, such as salary increases.

People have 30 days after being notified that their property -- including
boats, cars, cash or land -- has been seized to file a claim for it with the
court.

Many people drop their fight when prosecutors want specific documentation
about the source of the money or property, said Jose Marin, the Contra Costa
deputy district attorney in charge of the office's drug unit.

"Once we begin to ask questions, most people drop out," he said.

"With money, it's not very hard to explain where it comes from," said Andy
Cuellar, the Alameda County deputy district attorney in charge of asset
forfeiture.

Critics disagree. Civil libertarians and criminal defense attorneys have
argued that asset forfeiture laws penalize innocent members of a family and
are costly to defend in court.

Responding to those concerns, Congress in 2000 approved a law that imposed
new limits on federal asset seizures.

It imposes notice and time requirements and shifts the burden of proof onto
the government, making it necessary to show that the property owner was
complicit.

State law, revamped in 1994, requires that the person be convicted of the
underlying offense before any property worth less than $25,000 is forfeited.

For property worth more than $25,000, a conviction is not required; however,
the forfeiture must be decided by a judge, regardless of whether the person
has filed a claim for the property, Marin said.

Police agencies have increasingly relied on the funds.

Concord police Lt. Gary Norvell said that if his department needs a vital
piece of equipment that wasn't included in the budget, it uses drug
forfeiture money to buy it.

Over the years, the department has spent between $80,000 and $100,000 for
eight unmarked police cars equipped with computers and police radios. The
department also bought an SUV that converts to a mobile command post and
SWAT gear, rifles and surveillance equipment.

The Pittsburg Police Department is considering using asset-forfeiture money
to purchase wiretaps for narcotics officers that can cost between $8,000 and
$15,000 each, said Lt. Michael Barbanica.

Past expenditures include off-road motorcycles to help combat street-level
drug activity, he said.

In Livermore, the police department spent about $9,000 last year on a
remote-controlled, closed-circuit television camera that uses infrared
technology to see interior images of a building without having to send
someone inside, said Capt. Mark Weiss.

In Contra Costa County, people file a claim in about half the asset
seizures, with about 20 percent being fully contested in court.

Because of time and expense, prosecutors rarely take asset forfeitures to
trial. Instead, they settle the claims, usually agreeing to take some of the
money and give some of it back, Marin said.

Confiscated money is divided among the state's general fund and other public
agencies.

In 2001, the state's general fund received nearly $26 million in asset
forfeitures. The money came from 3,116 forfeiture cases, including some that
had been initiated as far back as 1995, according to the state Department of
Justice.

A committee in each county made up of a police chief, the chief probation
department official, the district attorney and the sheriff dole out 15
percent of the money for drug and gang prevention programs.

Those funds can be given to educators, community-based organizations or law
enforcement.

"One of the more common ones is DARE programs," said Alameda County District
Attorney Tom Orloff, who is chairman of that county's committee. "That's
where the (reduced) budgets really hurt them -- the kinds of things that
don't catch crooks but are good to do."

Alameda County has about $320,000 available for its drug and gang prevention
work, Orloff said.

Contra Costa's committee fund -- with a balance of about $400,000 -- has
barely been tapped. Marin said he suspects many people do not even know the
money, which is administered by the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office, is there.

"I myself have made it a personal crusade," he said. "I make sure that
whenever I'm brought into a function where I'm discussing asset forfeiture,
I always mention the fact that these funds are there."

Police agencies are well aware of how much they have in their forfeiture
accounts. Many save the money for big-ticket items.

The Richmond Police Department has spent $150,000 to renovate a high-tech
conference room and command center, according to Armand Mulder, commander
for the department's support services bureau.

It plans to spend another $91,000 to maintain squad cars' mobile computers
and may spend another $150,000 to buy patrol motorcycles, he said.

The Oakland Police Department has used its funds to maintain and fuel its
helicopter and equip it with heat-seeking, infrared night vision.

Saving the money makes sense because the amount coming in is impossible to
predict.

"One of the problems with asset forfeiture is it's not like a business,"
Cuellar said. "It really depends on how much investigation is done and also
how lucky you are."

Sometimes, Cuellar said, an eight-month investigation will net nothing, but
a routine traffic stop where the car is legally searched will turn up
$100,000.

"You just never know," he said.

Contra Costa officials seized about $140,000 in cash last year in a single
bust, and $300,000 in money and vehicles as part of a West County case,
Marin said.

Mulder called the extra revenue only a side benefit to narcotics
enforcement.

"The main emphasis is -- whatever activity we do -- it is to decrease crime,
not increase revenue," he said.