Pubdate: Tue, 05 Aug 2003
Source: Greenwood Commonwealth (MS)
Copyright: 2003 Greenwood Commonwealth
Contact:  http://www.gwcommonwealth.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1541
Author: Matt Volz, Associated Press

MBN CHANGES LEADERSHIP, POLICIES FOLLOWING INVESTIGATION INTO UNIT

Minister-Agent To Lead Marijuana Eradication Program

JACKSON - The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics has placed a minister-agent 
over its marijuana eradication program amid an investigation into alleged 
records falsification and misconduct.

Elbert Craig, a 14-year MBN agent and a Baptist minister, was named earlier 
as agent-in-charge of the eradication program and its evidence, MBN 
director Frank Melton said Monday.

Melton said that during the three months Craig has been in charge, the 
program's accountability has improved.

"It has been streamlined. It has been put under new management," Melton 
said. "(Craig's) integrity is above reproach."

Craig replaced Jimmy Saxton, who is on administrative leave. Saxton's 
personnel hearing, originally set for July, has been rescheduled for Aug. 10.

Several employees fraudulently applied for overtime in the marijuana 
eradication program, according to an unnamed source in an April MBN memo 
summarizing an internal investigation.

The memo alleged the agents turned in reports, signed by Saxton, that said 
they were looking for marijuana in flights over Mississippi in December and 
January, a time when marijuana does not grow.

The memo also said Saxton promoted a civilian employee in exchange for 
helicopter flight lessons and allowed thousands of dollars in bureau money 
to be spent on personal items for employees, including leather jackets, 
tools, boots and sunglasses.

Melton said changes have been made in reporting and approving time worked, 
and in determining who is eligible for overtime.

"I really don't know who was running it," Melton said of the eradication 
program. "It was very unclear who was in charge of what."

Agents can now only work a certain number of hours with the marijuana 
eradication program each month before they are rotated out, Melton said.

Changes have also been made in appropriating equipment and approving 
purchases, Craig said.

"We didn't do an overhaul," Craig said. "We're just trying to correct some 
of the things already there. There's just more accountability in place."

Melton said the internal investigation, which is examining allegations of 
misconduct over the past couple of years, is nearly complete.

He declined to discuss the investigation results in detail but said most 
items outlined in the April memo have been substantiated.

The investigation, led by the MBN, the state auditor's office and the 
attorney general's office, is also looking into two airplane transfers made 
in 1999 and 2000. The unnamed source in the memo claimed weapons from the 
MBN's Meridian office were given as gifts.