FEAR-List Bulletin, January 1, 1996

From:   J.PAFF1@GENIE.GEIS.COM@INET00#  Internet Gateway

To:     FEAR-LIST@SVPAL.ORG@INET00#     Internet Gateway

Sub: Cops dipping into loot again


ANOTHER ILLEGAL DIP INTO THE FORFEITURE FUNDS

According to the Minneapolis _Star Tribune_ of December 21 and
22, 1995, a veteran city police narcotics officer is under
investigation for stealing nearly $200,000 from the city's asset
forfeiture trust fund.  Stanley J. Capistrant, the officer under
investigation, handled the forfeited funds for the past six
years.

According to police captain Stephen Strehlow, the forfeiture fund
accounting system has "built in checks" to prevent embezzlement.
Unfortunately, no one had monitored the accounting records for
years, and it wasn't until a recent audit that anyone realized
that the cash was missing.

Narcotics unit supervisor Bernie Bottema, who was "devastated" by
the incident, partially attributed the embezzlement to the brisk
business the city's forfeiture squads were doing lately.  He was
quoted as saying, "When the seizure business started, it probably
could have been handled by one person on a book.  But it became
too much for one person to handle."

The FBI and U.S. Attorney were called in to investigate, because
it was felt that the Hennepin County Attorney's office, which
would ordinarily conduct the investigation, may have a conflict
of interest since that office receives a share of the city's
forfeited funds.

A 1989 analysis of the forfeiture fund by the city's  Budget and
Evaluation Division had found several "severe trouble spots" in
he procedures for handling seized and forfeited cash and
property.

According to an internal audit that followed the Division's
report, cash receipt were not numbered, leading the auditor to
conclude that the procedure "appears to be an opportunity for an
officer to, for example, seize $1,000, list that amount on one
form and give a copy to the suspect, then prepare a second form
stating that the seized amount was only $500 and pocket the
balance."

Unfortunately, the city elected not to implement all the
financial safeguards recommended by the Division and the auditor.

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