DRUG INFORMANT'S TAB INCLUDES PAYMENT FOR RENT, BEER, FOOD

Douglas County investigators paid a drug informant's rent, helped him buy
birdhouse supplies and a six-pack of beer, according to documents unveiled
Wednesday by a Lawrence attorney.

But what has attorney John Frydman angry is that testimony from the
informant, Justo Culian, helped keep Frydman's client Lee Sanders in jail
for three months that Sanders could have been free. Prosecutors on Monday
dismissed aggravated kidnapping charges against Sanders.

Frydman, who has practiced here 17 years, said it was the first time he has
seen proof that Douglas County investigators pay informants.

"I think it's a misuse of our tax dollars," Frydman said. "I think it's
laughable."

The county's top law enforcement officer said paying informants is rare but
sometimes necessary. And prosecutors say Sanders may not yet be off the
hook - they want to delay charges until another trial in the kidnapping
case is settled.

"A judge has made the decision that we had enough evidence to proceed,"
said Assistant Dist. Atty. Dave Zabel.

Lee Sanders, 34, was not available for comment. He was arrested in January
with Lionell Sanders, 23, Quincy Sanders, 20, and Kim Sanders, 23.

The family members were charged with kidnapping Culian on Jan. 3 and taking
him to an apartment where they accused him of being a drug informant.
Lionell Sanders was accused of hitting Culian during the incident.

Frydman said Culian had little credibility, in part because Culian had been
hospitalized for mental illness and substance abuse before becoming a
confidential informant last fall for the Tri-County Drug Unit. The unit
consists of officers from law enforcement agencies in Douglas, Jefferson
and Franklin counties.

Frydman produced for the Journal-World drug unit expense reports provided
by prosecutors during the discovery phase of court proceedings.

The reports show the unit reimbursed Culian $600 for rent between October
and December, at the same time he made at least seven "controlled" drug
buys on behalf of investigators. The unit also paid Culian $41.55 for some
other expenses at the time, including the purchase of birdhouse materials
and a six-pack of beer.

After Culian was attacked, investigators paid another $404.26 to put him up
in a motel and buy food.

Paying informants raises doubts about the credibility of drug
investigations, Frydman said.

"The problem with doing something for money - when you're otherwise
homeless - is that you have to deliver or you're useless," he said.

Douglas County Sheriff Rick Trapp oversees the drug unit locally. He would
not comment on the Culian case.

But he said payments to informants are rare and never contingent on
convictions. Instead, the payments reimburse informants for living expenses
incurred during investigations.

"Particularly if it's a long-term investigation, we need to keep them in
the area and provide them with a means to live," Trapp said.

Informants are rarely clean-cut, Trapp said.

"These are individuals who are not of the most savory character," he said.
"You have to utilize people who can interact with these" drug suspects.