Law enforcement agencies seize $5 million in assets

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Law enforcement agencies seized nearly $5.1 million in assets believed to have resulted from criminal activity last year -- a 40 percent increase from 2001, according to a new state audit.

The audit examines the actions taken by law enforcement under the state's Criminal Activity Forfeiture Act in 2002.

Changes to the CAFA statute made two years ago require county prosecuting attorneys and the state attorney general to annually report seizures made in their jurisdictions to the state auditor. The revised law was intended to better track proceeds from seizures and stem perceived abuses of the system by some law enforcement agencies.

The impetus for the change was to close a legal loophole some agencies had used to circumvent the Missouri Constitution's requirement that seized assets be placed in a state fund for education.

Some local agencies that discovered ill-gotten assets would involve federal agents, usually from the Drug Enforcement Administration, in the seizure after the fact. After taking a cut of the proceeds, the federal agency would return the rest to the local department for its own use. The new law clarified that assets seized by Missouri law enforcement can only be turned over to the federal government if the property is taken as part of a joint local-federal operation.

However, substantially more money was turned over to federal agencies in 2002 than in the prior year.

In 2001, $500,000 -- or 14 percent of the total amount seized -- was transferred to the federal government while $226,000 -- 6 percent -- was turned over to the state.

In 2002, $1.3 million -- 26 percent of the total -- went to a federal agency and $231,000 -- 5 percent -- to the state.

Legitimate operations

State Auditor Claire McCaskill said some of the transferred assets no doubt resulted from legitimate joint operations. She said the data prosecutors are required to submit is insufficient for auditors to determine whether any local agencies are still skirting the constitution.

About 20 percent, or $1 million, of the $5.1 million worth of cash or property seized last year was returned to its owners. The disposition of the remaining $2.5 million was still pending or otherwise unknown.

Reporting compliance improved from 90 percent last year to 95 percent this year. Of the 115 local prosecutors that must report plus the attorney general, McCaskill's office received responses from all but six -- including three from Southeast Missouri.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said his failure to turn in the county's information was an oversight. He said there were only a handful of seizure cases in the county last year.

mpowers@semissourian.com

(573) 635-4608

DISPOSITION OF ASSETS

Disposition of law enforcement seizures reported for 2002 under the Criminal Assets Forfeiture Act by Southeast Missouri county prosecuting attorneys. Prosecuting attorneys in Bollinger, Carter, Iron, Madison, Perry, Ripley and Stoddard counties reported they had no seizure cases during 2001.

COUNTY CASES TOTAL VALUE

Butler 4 $11,334

Cape Girardeau Did Not Report

Dunklin 1 $4,500

Mississippi 1 $5,069

New Madrid 7 $149,102

Pemiscot 1 $2,700

Reynolds Did Not Report

Scott 4 $32,166

St. Francois 4 $5,437

Ste. Genevieve 4 $3,871

Wayne Did Not Report

SOURCE: Missouri State Auditor