Pubdate: Mon, 24 Jan 2000
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Section: Front Page
Copyright: 2000 The Washington Post Company
Address: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071
Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Craig Whitlock, Washington Post Staff Writer
Note: Staff writer Peter Slevin and researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to
this report.

MD. SHERIFF'S OFFICE HID SEIZED CASH

Pr. George's Audit Missed $45,000

The Prince George's County sheriff's office hid $45,000 seized from an
alleged drug dealer for seven years as the department lobbied for
legislation that would have enabled it to keep all or part of the money.

The money, which was not discovered during an audit of the department early
last year, finally was deposited with the county's finance department last
month, after auditors were tipped off about the money in November. Now, the
sheriff's department employee who tipped them has been notified his job is
being eliminated.

Sgt. Bill Ament, a spokesman for Sheriff Alonzo D. Black (D), first called
the failure to report the money "an oversight" and added: "We don't have a
clue as to why it was sitting around for all that time."

Col. John Moss, Black's chief deputy, said neither he nor Black knew about
the $45,000 in confiscated cash until after the auditors were told about it
in November. "I don't believe the sheriff knew anything about the money,"
he said.

But former sheriff James Aluisi, who stepped down in December 1998, said in
an interview that all his top officials, including Black, knew about the
$45,000 and that he asked Black in 1997 to draft legislation to give the
department a cut of seized funds.

"Al Black was in charge of getting the legislation through," Aluisi said.

Black could not be reached for comment.

The disclosure of the hidden money raised new questions about whether all
of the money that was seized is accounted for--there is an apparent
discrepancy of about $1,000--as well as about $15,000 in other seized funds
that the auditors discovered in the same safe where officials said the
$45,000 was kept.

In response to questions from The Washington Post about the discrepancy,
Moss said: "This is under immediate investigation. This is something
serious. We are absolutely going to follow through on this even if it leads
to criminal sanctions for anyone here."

Under Maryland law, law enforcement agencies must immediately turn in any
contraband cash--such as money confiscated from alleged gamblers and drug
dealers--to the county treasury. In most counties, the money is later
divvied up among schools and police agencies if the courts rule the public
is entitled to it under civil forfeiture laws. In Prince George's, the
sheriff's department is not among the agencies that receive such money.

The Prince George's sheriff's office is responsible for courthouse security
and serving warrants and rarely has occasion to seize contraband cash.
Ament estimated the agency has confiscated $100,000 over the past two decades.

In recent years, the sheriff's office also has been strapped for operating
funds because of a long-running budget feud and court battle between Aluisi
and County Executive Wayne K. Curry (D). During the squabble, the
department fell into disarray and failed to carry out many of its duties.

Black has tried to heal the rift and win more financial support from the
county. On Jan. 6, 1999, three weeks after taking office, Black asked the
County Council to have its independent Office of Audits and Investigations
conduct an inventory of all cash, weapons, computers and other "fixed
assets" in the sheriff's office.

"The sheriff was simply trying to find out what he had," Moss said. As a
result, all sheriff's employees were ordered to cooperate with the auditors
and to report "all monies and all property," according to a department memo.

In their March report, auditors said they had tallied $15,378 in
"confiscated cash on hand" in the sheriff's property room. They also noted
that sheriff's employees lacked specific regulations on how to handle and
secure seized cash and that the money was not being deposited in the county
treasury, as required.

But they didn't find the $45,000.

"We wouldn't have known it existed if somebody hadn't told us about it,"
said David H. Van Dyke, then the acting county auditor. "If their intent
was to hide it and sit on it, we would never have found out about it."

But Aluisi defended his actions. "I've done a lot of things in my career,
but it was never my intention to defraud people in the county," he said.
"So many people knew about it. We just weren't going to turn it in until we
could get our share."

According to court records, the money was confiscated Feb. 18, 1993, when
sheriff's deputies and FBI agents kicked in an apartment door in the 1100
block of Kennebec Street in Oxon Hill.

The law enforcement agents were looking for 30-year-old Darnell Maddox, a
suspect in a 1992 slaying in the District. They had a warrant for his
arrest and found him asleep in the back bedroom at 6:30 a.m. Sarah Nell
Lee, the apartment's tenant, also was sleeping there. After rousting her at
gunpoint, the officers searched the apartment.

According to records filed in Prince George's County Circuit Court, they
found wads of cash, seven handguns, 10 ounces of liquid PCP and seven large
plastic freezer bags containing 1,783 grams of marijuana.

A detailed inventory filed by defense lawyers puts the total of the cash at
$45,638. In the same court file, charging documents prepared by sheriff's
deputies put the amount at $45,653.

Public records show, however, that when Prince George's auditors counted
the money two months ago, they found only $44,653--about $1,000 less than
what is described in court records.

Drug and gun charges against Lee and Maddox were later dismissed after a
Circuit Court judge ruled that sheriff's deputies and FBI agents conducted
an illegal search of Lee's apartment. The murder charge against Maddox in
the District was also dismissed, according to court records.

A lawyer for Harold Irv Smith, a senior fiscal manager who was hired by the
sheriff's office in 1979, confirmed that his client was the person who
notified auditors. Smith was notified this month that the department plans
to eliminate his job.

Smith declined to comment. His lawyer, Timothy F. Maloney, said he is
trying to fight the decision, arguing that sheriff's officials did not
follow proper procedures.

Moss confirmed that Smith was recently placed on administrative leave but
declined to comment further, citing personnel privacy rules. He said
sheriff's officials did not know who told auditors about the missing money.
Regardless, he said, that person would not be punished.

"We appreciate anyone who would want to bring these issues to light and
make sure that we are held accountable to the public," Moss said.

Staff writer Peter Slevin and researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this
report.
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