MAHONING COUNTY Police probe sought into seized money

The DEA didn't need to find drugs to seize the money, an agent says.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city law director wants the police department's Internal Affairs Division to review a traffic arrest in which nearly $7,000 was seized and not returned.
Law Director John A. McNally IV said Friday it's his understanding the money was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration. McNally said he would send a letter to the chief, asking that IAD look into the matter.
Youngstown attorney Vincent E. Gilmartin filed a lawsuit Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on behalf of Antonio Reese that names the city, mayor and McNally. The lawsuit seeks the return of Reese's $6,856, saying it was unlawfully seized.
DEA Special Agent Doug Lamplugh said his office took $6,600 of Reese's money from the city police vice squad as an asset forfeiture, believing the money to be drug-related. Under federal law, he said, drugs do not need to be found to seize assets; it's the totality of the circumstances.
The $6,600 taken from Reese, 32, of East Judson Avenue, was found in a plastic bag on the rear floor board behind the driver's seat of the Mazda he was driving July 2. An additional $256 was found in his pants pocket.
McNally said he informed Gilmartin the $256 is at the vice squad office and can be picked up there. Gilmartin was at a seminar Friday and could not be reached.
Driving under suspension
Reese was pulled over by police on Hudson Avenue because the Mazda matched the description of a car that hadjust been broadcast as stolen. The officers discovered that Reese's driver's license was under suspension, reports show.
He was charged with driving under suspension, which is set for trial Nov. 22 in municipal court. No charge related to a stolen car was filed.
Reese, believing the officers would leave the Mazda while they transported him to jail, told them about the money, which he said came from a settlement. When asked, Reese said he did not have a job and added: "Just because I'm black that doesn't mean that I sell drugs."
Reese told the officers that he intended to use the cash to buy a car from a friend. The friend, though, told police that Reese was just coming over to hang out -- there was no mention of a car for sale.
The officers then requested that Boardman's narcotics dog come to the scene of the traffic stop. The dog alerted on the bag of cash and, after it was moved, alerted on the spot where it had been, reports show.
Lamplugh said the dog alerting to a drug scent is one factor in the probable cause needed to seize the money in a civil action.
meade@vindy.com