Forfeiture spending raises red flags across U.S.

Forfeiture critics say Iowa mirrors other states where seized cash has become a bottomless slush fund riddled with inappropriate spending, often hidden from public view.

Examples cited include:

• Nearly $10,000 in Gatorade purchases by the Pittsburgh police in 2009, reimbursed to the forfeiture account following a complaint from the city solicitor.

• A $1,000 ice resurfacing machine bought by the Worcester County District Attorney's office in Massachusetts.

• A 2010 gala hosted by the District Attorney's Office in Fulton County, Georgia, where guests ate $3,200 worth of food, including sirloin tip beef roast and mini-crab cakes with champagne sauce.

• Payments by the Romulus, Michigan, police chief for prostitutes, alcohol and marijuana, and for a tanning salon for his wife, the Detroit Free Press reported. Three former Romulus police detectives and former chief Michael St. Andre pleaded guilty or no contest last year to charges related to the improper use of forfeiture cash.

One factor that allows the questionable spending to persist is the lack of accountability, according to a 2010 study released by the Institute for Justice. That report found that only 29 states — Iowa wasn't one of them — clearly require law enforcement to collect and report forfeiture data.

"In most states, we know nothing or next-to-nothing about the use of civil forfeiture or its proceeds," said Scott Bullock, one of the report's authors.

The Iowa state auditor recommends that agencies keep forfeiture money in a special account. The auditor provides directives on proper accounting procedures and reminds agencies that the money must be used for the "enhancement of law enforcement purposes."

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But that requirement is broadly interpreted. Deputy Auditor Warren Jenkins says he can't remember an instance when the state has flagged an agency for improperly spending seized money.

"I could envision circumstances when clearly those would be within the confines of the law," Jenkins said when asked about the purchase of tropical fish and mulch.

"You talk about mulch, for example, that one that might be least obvious. But if you're landscaping around the jail to provide more aesthetics for the public as they come in and out, I can see where that would conceivably be for enhancing law enforcement."