Pubdate: Tue, 17 Sep 2002
Source: Daily Post-Athenian (TN)
Copyright: 2002 East Tennessee Network - R.A.I.D. (Regionalized Access Internet
Contact:  http://dpa.xtn.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1673
Author: Ben Benton

CHANGES AHEAD FOR DRUG TASK FORCE

As the investigation into allegations against 10th Judicial District Drug 
Task Force Director Ken Wilson continue, the DTF's role and practices in 
the district could come under the scrutiny of its managing board.

Wilson, 53, of 179 County Road 633, Etowah, was charged recently by the 
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation with simple possession of cocaine after 
an informant reported that evidence was possibly missing from the DTF's 
Charleston office.

The drugs were allegedly found by TBI agents during a search of his home. 
Wilson has since been freed on $2,000 bond, fired from his job of four 
years and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges, according to 
authorities and records.

The incident has left the law enforcement community of 10th Judicial 
District reeling.

District Attorney General Jerry N. Estes, chairman of the six-voting-member 
board which oversees the 10th's DTF, said he thought the current 
restructuring of the agency provided an opportunity to revamp the DTF and 
possibly refocus its efforts.

"I do think the Board (of Directors of the local DTF) see this as an 
opportunity to make some corrections," Estes said.

The DTF has existed for 15 years, according to Estes, and the 10th Judicial 
District's was the second Task Force formed in Tennessee. The 10th's DTF 
was also the first to establish policies and procedures which was used as a 
blueprint for other DTFs in the state.

Those policies and procedures have been targeted for review as the agency's 
Board seeks improvements.

A concern of citizens and some in the law enforcement community is related 
to the DTF's interstate interdiction efforts and whether the five-man 
agency's labors are being utilized appropriately. Some questions have been 
raised regarding whether the fact that funding of the DTF is realized 
through seizures and forfeitures of vehicles and property can improperly 
motivate DTF members.

On many afternoons, the DTF's interdiction team of two agents can be seen 
running radar on I-75 in Bradley County. The DTF only rarely conducts 
interdiction operations in McMinn County, authorities said.

On the positive side, the roving interdiction team has made some sizable 
seizures and significant arrests, according to Estes. But that doesn't mean 
there's no room for change, he said.

"I think it's a big concern," Estes said. He said some members of the board 
had been expressing some concern about interdiction to former director Wilson.

"Even though that may be the most visible thing they do, it's not the only 
thing," Estes said. "And they have taken a lot of drugs off the street."

Estes said despite the current situation surrounding the now-ousted 
director, the DTF has a history of success.

"Even with this very negative thing that has happened, it has had a long 
and good track record," Estes said.

"Over the long history of the DTF, it has been consistently lauded as a 
good program," he said, noting a recent state-level liaison assessment 
resulted in good marks.

"The liaison has been complimentary of how the DTF is run by the Board," 
Estes said. "It has had a consistently good history. All the audits have 
been good."

Estes said it had been a little over a year since the DTF was last audited, 
but said it was now time for another audit.

An audit by the state will coincide with a call for a review by the state 
Comptroller's Office of the agency's records.

Estes said the need for the DTF's interdiction program must be judged based 
on the needs of the law enforcement agencies within the district.

The DTF assists all four sheriff's departments in the district - Bradley, 
McMinn, Monroe and Polk counties - as well as the police departments 
operating in each county's municipalities.

The voting members of the DTF Board of Directors include McMinn County 
Sheriff Steve Frisbie, Monroe County Sheriff Doug Watson, Polk County 
Sheriff Bill Davis, Bradley County Sheriff Dan Gilley and Athens Police 
Chief Chuck Ziegler, according to Estes. The heads of other law enforcement 
agencies in the district are also members of the Board, but have no voting 
powers.

Law enforcement agencies in the 10th Judicial District vary greatly in 
size, according to Estes, and this figures significantly in what those 
departments want from the DTF.

"What a one-or two-man law enforcement agency needs is very different from 
what a 100-person law enforcement agency needs," Estes noted.

He said the Board will take the opportunity to make any changes now, while 
interim 10th Judicial District DTF Director Jack Damoth takes the helm.

"We will discuss how much interdiction we should be doing," Estes said.

Interdiction is not the only concern, however.

"I have in the last week voiced to individual board members that in 
fairness to the new director, I feel the board should give more direction 
of the general operation of the agency," Estes said, "and I haven't heard 
anyone disagree with that."

Estes said he felt a new focus might be placed on prescription fraud.

"My belief is prescription fraud is an area that is wide open," he said. He 
said local law enforcement agencies, including the DTF, have already 
embarked on a mission to educate pharmacists and physicians on the problem 
of fraud.

Estes said he hoped the effort would make a team of the medical and law 
enforcement communities. The general effort of Board at this crucial time 
will be improvement. Estes said he hopes to get the DTF "back on track."

"The key is the director," he said. "We were all greatly disappointed in 
what happened."

Now an interim director faces a new challenge.

In a telephone interview last week, Damoth, who previously served with the 
DTF from 1998 to 2000, said the arrest of Wilson hurt everyone in law 
enforcement.

"At this point, all of us in law enforcement have a black eye," Damoth 
said. "So morale, as you can imagine, is real low. They feel betrayed and 
let down, but now we're going to start back. We're going to install new 
checks and balances."

Damoth said as interim director he wants to encourage unannounced audits of 
the DTF's records and make administrative accounting changes by employing 
more "professional practices."

Estes directed Damoth to meet with every voting member of the Board as well 
as all the heads of departments within the district.

"My primary goal is to find out, 'What can I do for you?'" Damoth said. 
"That's the reason the Task Force was created; to help the entire district 
with the war on drugs."

Damoth said he plans to devote equal time to each of the four counties in 
the district and assist agencies based on their assessments of their needs.

Damoth pointed out the DTF's interdiction efforts were aimed only at drugs.

"It's not just drugs, it's criminal interdiction," he said. Damoth said the 
current structure of the DTF includes two subdivisions: the interdiction 
team and case agents.

He said the interdiction team, which makes use of a drug dog, primarily 
seeks to intercept drug traffickers and criminals on the run while three 
case agents work on drug cases on their own and by assisting other departments.

Damoth said the Tennessee Highway Patrol once performed interdiction on the 
interstates but only as manpower allowed.

"Their primary mission is to get criminals off the road," he said. "They 
also assist in other investigations such as a missing person."

Damoth quoted part of the DTF's mission statement: "...while one of the 
goals is the make the Task Force self-supporting and even profitable 
through fines and forfeitures, this is secondary to the primary goal which 
is to fight drug traffic and its related criminal activity in the most 
effective way possible."

Damoth said the Task Force seeks to support itself by forcing criminals to 
fund the agency rather than taxpayers.

He said positive effects of DTF activities are twofold.

"Illegal drugs are probably the worst problem faced by law enforcement and 
law-abiding citizens, and we recognize that by fighting the drug problem, 
burglaries, larcenies, murders, assaults and many of the related crimes 
will be reduced," he said.

Although Damoth hasn't said he wants the job permanently, he said he 
intends to plan for the future while the DTF is under his watch.

"I will be a working director," he said. "It will take me a while to get 
everything the way I want it," said Damoth, who said he'd be working with 
the DTF's case agents. "If I'm not out there with them, I won't know what 
they're doing."

Damoth, a 28-year veteran in the U.S. military's Special Forces, said he 
just wanted to serve his community in whatever capacity is needed most. He 
said he was greatly affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and has 
since rededicated his life to the service of his community.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens