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Law Enforcement: Asset Forfeiture Funds Spent on Banquets, Balls, and Balloons in Atlanta

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #501)
Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy

A routine audit of the Fulton County (Atlanta) district attorney's office has turned up questionable spending of money seized from drug suspects under asset forfeiture laws. Less than a month ago, similar apparent abuses were uncovered in the Austin, Texas, police department.

According to auditor's reports, almost one-third of the 376 checks written out of the asset forfeiture account in 2006 were either questionable or not allowed under federal guidelines. Those questionable expenses totaled more than $2 million.

Under federal asset forfeiture laws, money seized by the feds and handed over to state law enforcement may only be used for law enforcement purposes. But District Attorney Paul Howard has a very expansive view of just what that means. According to auditor's reports gathered by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution under the state open records act, Howard's asset forfeiture fund spending included:

  • $1,500 to sponsor the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys;

  • $5,150 for benefits, dinners, football tickets, fundraisers, and balls sponsored by various civic organizations -- none of them directly related to law enforcement;
  • $5,500 spent on rent and catering for a staff Christmas party;
  • $89 for a Superman-style red cape with "Super Lawyer" printed on it that an assistant prosecutor was encouraged to wear at the Christmas party;
  • $150 for a dinner party to celebrate the conviction of a murderer; and
  • $9,100 for Howard's perfect attendance program for students in Atlanta's public elementary schools.

DA Howard defended the expenditures, saying they were tools for fighting crime and boosting office morale. "We cannot pay our employees bonuses. We can't pay overtime," Howard said. "I tried to come up with ways to increase morale."

But county auditors questioned the propriety of the spending, saying Howard may have violated federal asset forfeiture rules. Auditors also raised flags about Howard's mixing various types of funding in the same account.

"This account has several types of funds commingled," the auditor wrote. "These commingled funds include victim witness funds, federal equitable sharing agreement funds and regular operating funds. Commingling these funds is strictly prohibited since all these funds are for a specific purpose."

Howard said there is nothing wrong with putting money from different sources in one account. "We tracked the money," Howard said. "The money was not misused." But he has since created separate accounts for the different funds.

The auditor's reports are not final. They are now being reviewed by a private auditor.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Anonymous (not verified)

It depends on who commits the crime...

Regular people pay the fines for crime - Corrupt officials spend the money illegally.

:D

Fri, 09/14/2007 - 3:48pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

I recently saw a blurp from an awards ceremony given to cops for their asset seizure(s) of drug raids. One cop netted over 2 million dollars! I was disgusted, it just seems like another branch of government taking, taking, taking, and taking. Oh, they were smiling from ear to ear and not because they were saving lives. All monies should go towards recovery programs~end of story.

Sun, 09/16/2007 - 8:43pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

police who steal from the public should be made to pay for thier crimes.if the money or property is judged illeagl it should be destroyed not givin to these badge wearing crimnals

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 5:37pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

Did it ever occur to you that you do have to reward your departments for their hard work in cleaning up the streets and risking their lives. Not all counties can afford to pay them for their services as they should be paid. In fact most of the people mentioned above probably spend most of their time at work to make sure the bad guy goes away. How would you have felt if the drug dealing dirtbag would have killed one of those cops and then later been arrested with the same money and drugs he had? Would you have a different opinion? And has it occured to you that not only do cops become the targets of a drug dealers handgun but so do the prosecuters. They are the ones who make sure the drug dealers don't win in court. They are just as much in danger as the cops are. I wish this world would wake up? And one more question, why aren't you a peace officer? You can't handle it can you.???

Mon, 02/18/2008 - 4:29am Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

peace officer, you mean bully with a badge? I'm not of below average inteligence, and won't blindly follow the instructions of a "superior", so have a job producing real good and services.

Sat, 03/14/2009 - 11:12am Permalink

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