SARASOTA WOMAN FRAMED BY CORRUPT DEPUTIES FILES FEDERAL LAWSUIT

TAMPA - A Sarasota woman is seeking up to $3 million in damages from
five Manatee County sheriff's deputies who planted drugs in her home.

Sarah Louise Smith filed the lawsuit late Wednesday in U.S. District
Court in Tampa.

Smith lost custody of her baby daughter for 18 months after she was
convicted in 1997 on drug charges during a trial in which the deputies
lied to jurors.

All five deputies were sentenced to prison for their role in the
scheme, which involved planting drugs on suspects, stealing money from
people under arrest and lying. The men were part of an elite drug-
fighting group called the Delta Task Force and prosecutors said their
scheme lasted from 1995 to 1999.

Smith is suing former deputies Christopher Wilson, Lance Carpenter,
Thomas Wooten, Paul Maass and Wayne Wyckoff.

During the sentencing hearings for the officers, Smith testified the
false charges led her family and friends to doubt her innocence.

Last year, Smith settled a claim with the sheriff's department for
$275,000, said her attorney, Greg Zitani.