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CONTRACT NO. 95-014/PUBLIC ASSISTANCE FRAUD I r Contract No. 95 - 014 STATE OF FLORIDA OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL--DIVISION OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE FRAUD This Agreement is made this 08 , day of September , 19~ by and between the State of Florida Office of the Auditor General, Division of Public Assistance Fraud (hereinafter called "DPAF") and CLEARWATER POLICE DEPARTMENT on behalf of City of Clearwater (hereinafter called "the Agency"). WITNESSETH: WHEREAS, the unauthorized use, transfer or possession of Food Stamp Program coupons ("coupons") is a Federal crime and is punishable under 7 U.S.C. 2024 paragraphs (b) and (c), and a state crime punishable under s. 409.325, Florida Statutes; and WHEREAS, the Food Stamp Act provides that coupons may be issued to ". ..such person or persons, and at such times and in such manner, as the Secretary deems necessary or appropriate to protect the interests of the United States or to ensure enforcement of the provisions of. this Act..." 7 U.S.C. 2024 (a); and WHEREAS, the officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (hereinafter called "FNS"), have a strong interest in encouraging local law enforcement agencies to help protect the integrity of the Food Stamp Program; and WHEREAS, the Governor of the State of Florida has designated DPAF as the new state law enforcement bureau ("SLEB"); and WHEREAS, in that capacity, DPAF has negotiated with FNS, and FNS has authorized DPAF to acquire Food Stamp Program coupons for itself and for other agencies under certain conditions as required for law enforcement and investigative activities as authorized under 7 U.S.C. 2024 (a), and s. 11.50, Florida Statutes; and WHEREAS, DPAF and the Agency desire to enter an agreement whereby the Agency may request and, under certain conditions, DPAF may provide Food Stamp Program coupons for use by the Agency in an investigation; NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises and covenants of the parties hereto, it is agreed as follows: Section 1. Purpose 1.1 This agreement sets forth the terms and conditions under which the Agency may request, and DPAF may provide, Food Stamp Program coupons as required for use in law enforcement and investigative activities. , 1 ,) "'\ l/ L (i/ I section 2. Terms and Conditions I 2.1 The Agency is bound by the "Procedures for state or Local Law Enforcement to Investigate Misuse of Food Stamps", Attachment A, which is attached hereto, and by reference made a part of this Agreement. 2.2 The Agency shall be strictly liable and responsible and accountable to DPAF for all coupons issued to them, and shall conform to all agreements, restrictions and conditions under this Agreement. 2.3 The Agency shall notify and obtain the approval of DPAF prior to the commencement of any investigation involving the use of coupons acquired under this Agreement. 2.4 DPAF shall notify and receive the approval of FNS before approving any investigations which utilize coupons acquired under this Agreement. 2.5 DPAF shall submit timely details to FNS as to the procedures and results of the investigations initiated herein. 2.6 DPAF shall immediately notify Agency of FNS decisions, limitations, or other directions. 2.7 By execution of this document, the Agency does hereby represent, warrant and certify that it is a governmental law enforcement or investigative unit authorized under State laws and statutes to enforce or investigate compliance with criminal laws. 2.8 As a condition of receiving coupons through DPAF, the Agency agrees that it shall, at its own expense, perform the services required to complete the investigation or operation as defined and particularly set forth in the request for authorization to use coupons described in section 4.8 (a)-(e). 2.9 The amount of coupons provided for any particular operation or investigation will be determined on a case-by-case basis, and shall be identified and included as Attachment A-I to this contract, which shall be incorporated by reference herein, as if fully set forth in this paragraph. If additional coupons are required during an approved investigation, such coupons may be requested in the manner described in section 4.9. 2.10 Upon discovery of any loss or theft of coupons, the Agency shall immediately notify DPAF by telephone or telefax communication. Within 5 days of the discovery of such loss or theft, the Agency shall also provide a written report and accounting with respect to any coupons which are lost or stolen, describing the circumstances of the loss or theft, and identifying lost or stolen coupons by denomination and serial number. 2 I I Section 3. Liabilitv and Accountability 3.1 The Agency is strictly liable for the full face value of any and all coupons provided to it. The Agency is strictly liable regardless of whether the coupons are in the Agency's possession, or in the possession of named local or state prosecutors or courts as a result of the Agency's operations conducted for the purpose of enforcing laws which prohibit the unauthorized use, acquisition or possession of food coupons, except as may be provided below. 3.2 The Agency will be held liable for the full face value of any and all coupons allocated to it which are not used in accordance with the proposed operation or investigation plan approved in advance by DPAF. 3.3 The Agency will be held liable for the full face value of any and all coupons allocated to it which are lost or stolen. Liability must be liquidated at the time of the written incident report required under section 2.10 above. 3.4 Agency will be held liable for the full face value of any and all coupons allocated to it which are destroyed in a manner not approved in writing in advance by DPAF. 3.5 Except as provided under (a) below, the Agency will be held liable for the value of coupons allocated to it and which are not recovered in the process of investigations properly conducted for the purpose of enforcing laws which prohibit the unauthorized use, acquisition or possession of food coupons. (a) The Agency is not liable for the value of coupons allocated to it and not recovered, provided that the Agency followed the procedures for obtaining prior DPAF approval for the specific operation, and at least one of the following conditions are met: (1) the coupons are exchanged only for cash; or (2) the coupons are used in transactions with owners or employees of a store authorized to participate in the Food Stamp Program; or (3) the investigation was initiated on specific allegations that food coupons are being illegally acquired or used by, or are illegally in the possession of, an authorized or unauthorized person or firm. 3.6 Agency is not liable for the value of coupons returned to DPAF or destroyed in a manner approved in writing in advance by DPAF. 3 I I Section 4. Use and Transmission of Food Stamp Proqram Coupons 4.1 The Agency agrees it shall use the coupons obtained pursuant to this Agreement only for previously approved law enforcement or investigation purposes conducted in a manner consistent with this Agreement, local, state and federal laws, using due diligence and acting in a professional manner. 4.2 The Agency agrees that these coupons shall not be used to pay awards or informants, or to finance or effect operations or investigations not directly associated with this food stamp compliance program. 4.3 The Agency agrees that it shall not, under any circumstances, transfer coupons obtained pursuant to this Agreement to any other entity, including another governmental law enforcement or investigative unit authorized by law to enforce or investigate compliance with criminal laws. 4.4 The agency agrees that it shall not transfer coupons to another existing or anticipated operation or investigation under their supervision without the prior written approval of DPAF. Such approval may be requested by the Agency in writing as part of the request for authorization for the new investigation involving Food stamp Program coupons, or as an amendment to an existing approved investigation. 4.5 Agency may not open a new operation or investigation using existing inventories of coupons without the approval of DPAF referenced in section 4.4. 4.6 Coupons may be used only within the State of Florida. In the event that Agency's Investigations indicate that coupons are being trafficked outside of the State of Florida, Agency will immediately provide notice to DPAF in accordance with section 9.1 below. No further action to trail the coupons may be taken by Agency until instructions are received from FNS through DPAF. 4.7 Agency shall not mark coupons or attempt their recovery at any Federal Reserve Bank without the written authorization of DPAF. 4.8 In order to initiate the transmission of Food Stamp Program coupons from DPAF to the Agency, the Authorized Representative of the Agency shall send to the Authorized Representative of DPAF a letter specifying the following information: (a) the person designated to accept coupons; (b) the physical address of delivery; (c) security provisions for storage, accessibility, accountability controls, and other security provisions as may be required by DPAF or FNS; (d) sample signatures of those administering the program for the Agency; and 4 I I (e) a detailed description of the proposed investigation or operation, including but not limited to (1) whether the planned investigative activity is directly related to Food stamp Program enforcement; (2) the planned objectives; (3) dates and locations of the planned activity; (4) the amount and book denominations of coupons requested; and (5) the name of the unit that will be using the. coupons. 4.9 If additional coupons are required for an already approved investigation, the Agency shall submit a written detailed proposal for such coupons indicating the following information: 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 (a) the amount of coupons and book denominations requested; (b) a detailed description of the proposed operation and objectives including, but not limited to: (1) dates and locations of planned activity; (2) the name of the unit that will be using the coupons; and (3) a certification that there have been no changes to any of the conditions previously disclosed under section 4.8 (a)-(e) above. If accepted, the proposal will become an amendment to Attachment E, attached hereto, and will become incorporated by reference herein. The Agency agrees to use its best efforts to complete each operation or investigation without exceeding the amount of coupons originally requested and approved for that project. Agency shall notify DPAF in writing whenever it has reason to believe that the allocation of coupons for the performance of this Agreement will be either greater or substantially less than had been estimated. DPAF will use its best efforts to provide additional coupons when sufficient justification is received from Agency and circumstances therein stated are reasonable and warrant such action. However, DPAF is not obligated to provide coupons in excess of the allocation in section 2.9 above. The Agency shall transmit all unused coupons to DPAF within 30 days of closing an investigation. Transmittal shall be in accordance with section 4.15 of this Agreement. For purposes of this Agreement, the term "closing an investigation II shall be defined as that time when the active investigative portion of the investigation approved by DPAF pursuant to this Agreement 5 has been concluded. The coupons shall be accompanied by the reports required in section 5.4 below. I I 4.14 Transmission of Food stamp Program coupons from DPAF to the Agency will be by hand delivery by an authorized DPAF representative or his designee, to the authorized Agency representative, and at the Agency's expense. Positive proof of identification will be required. Attachment C will be the transmittal form. 4.15 Transmission of Food stamp Program coupons from the Agency back to DPAF will be by hand delivery by an authorized Agency representative or his designee, to the authorized DPAF representative, at the Agency's expense. Positive proof of identification will be required. Attachment D will be the transmittal form and shall be accompanied by the reports referenced in section 5.3 below. section 5. Reportinq and Recordkeepinq 5.1 The Agency agrees it shall provide to DPAF periodic written status reports on each active (i.e., not closed) investigation, including information regarding coupons issued to the Agency. The first. status report shall be due to DPAF on the first of the following four quarterly dates to occur after the date of execution of this Agreement by both parties: January 10, for the period from October 1 through December 31 of the preceding year; April 10, for the period from January 1 through March 31; July 10, for the period from April 1 through June 30; and October 10, for the period from July 1 through September 30. Subsequent status reports shall be due on that same quarterly schedule thereafter, or upon termination of this Agreement as provided elsewhere in this Agreement, if sooner. The information regarding coupons used shall be submitted on the form contained in Attachment B, hereto, which is incorporated by reference herein. Failure to submit reports in accordance with these procedures may result in termination of the Agreement and full Agency liability for all coupons issued to the Agency. 5.2 Within 30 days of closing an investigation, the Agency shall submit a final report on that investigation, including a final accounting of coupons used. Such accounting of coupons shall be submitted on the form contained in Attachment D, hereto, which is incorpora~ed by reference herein. 5.3 In each report submitted the Agency shall indicate the status of the investigation, and shall account for each coupon provided to it by DPAF, including the following information in detail: (a) all dates coupons were used; (b) names of law enforcement personnel using coupons, (however, see section 5.4 below); 6 I I (c) denominations and serial numbers of each coupon or coupon book used; (d) amount of cash and/or description of other consideration received in exchange for the coupons; (e) serial and denominations numbers of each coupon or coupon book not recovered if the investigation is final; (f) the name of each person and/or entity accepting coupons in exchange for cash or other consideration; and (g) the procedures and methods used in the investigation, and the results of each concluded operation. 5.4 In the event covert operatives, personnel, or other professional law enforcement personnel were utilized in the operation(s), and the continued utility or personal safety of those persons would be jeopardized with the disclosure of their identity in such a report, then their identities need not be disclosed in the report. In such an event, for accounting and reporting purposes, such agents will be identified by number, (e.g. Covert Agent #1, etc.). However, the documentation required in 5.3 above must be maintained in the event of an audit by either the Inspector General of the USDA or the General Accounting Office. Such documentation must include the agent number and their identity. Under no circumstances is the identity of the covert operative to be provided to DPAF. 5.5 Records of all confiscated cash and property will be submitted as a part of the Agency's final reporting requirements. These records will include documentation of the donation, sale or destruction of property as provided in section 6.1. Such documentation should include a description of the item(s), method by which items were obtained, condition, estimated value, disposal method, date of disposal, current custodian/owner, and income generated by disposal, if any. Attachment F is a sample form which may be used. 5.6 The State of Florida Auditor General, the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the General Accounting Office retain the right to inspect, review, and/or audit all books, records, and any other documents related to the operations as deemed necessary at any and all times. Section 6. Post-Investigation Disposition of Acquired Property 6.1 Cash and other property acquired with unrecovered food coupons for which the Aqency is not held liable in accordance with section 3.5 above, is the property of the United States. At such time as there is no further need for the cash or other property as evidence in prosecution or other actions, and in accordance with 7 D.S.C. s. 2024(g) and regulations implementing that section, the following distribution of cash 7 I and property is required: I (a) cash to the value of unrecovered food stamps will be forwarded to DPAF; (b) firearms or drugs acquired with coupons shall be turned over to officials in the state having jurisdiction over the enforcement of laws controlling the use of firearms or drugs; and (c) other property acquired with coupons in investigations may be either donated to nonprofit charitable organizations, destroyed or sold. Prior approval for the disposal of property must be requested from DPAF. Net proceeds from any sale of such property shall be forwarded to DPAF. Section 7. Amendments 7.1 DPAF may at any time by written notice as provided herein amend the general scope of this Agreement in anyone or more of the following: (a) description of investigations to be performed; (b) time of performance (i.e. Schedule); and/or (c) place of performance of investigations. 7.2 If any such changes causes an increase or decrease in the estimated allocation, or the time required for performance of any part of the investigations under this Agreement, whether or not changed by the order, or otherwise affects any other terms and conditions of this Agreement, DPAF shall make an equitable adjustment in the: (a) estimated allocation of food stamps, delivery or completion schedule, or both; and/or (b) other affected terms. Section 8. Term and Termination 8.1 Unless earlier terminated under paragraph 8.2 below, this Agreement shall terminate upon completion of all work specified under this Agreement, including any amendments, or one (1) year from the date first set forth above, whichever is earlier. 8.2 The Agency agrees that DPAF retains the right to revoke this Agreement in its entirety, or any or all authorizations to use Food Stamp Program coupons in investigations undertaken pursuant to this agreement, upon 7 days advance-written notice. 8.3 Within 90 days of receipt of Notice of Termination, the Agency shall (a) account for each coupon issued to it under this Agreement in accordance with section 5.2 above. 8 (b) I I return all coupons in the possession of the Agency which were issued to it under this Agreement In accordance with section 2.9 above. reimburse DPAF for the full value of all liabilities incurred under any portion of section 3 of this Agreement, which liabilities have not been liquidated. (c) 8.4 The Agency may request an additional 90 days to return all coupons not in the Agency's possession at the time provided in paragraph 8.3. This period may be granted by DPAF upon receipt of a written report by the Agency showing that specified coupons are needed as evidence in court proceedings, or other sufficient justification. Section 9. Notice 9.1 Any notice required to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be sent by certified mail return receipt requested, to the Authorized Representative or Representatives named below, and at the addresses stated herein, or the superseding addresses specified by proper notice. (a) DPAF: Mr. Michael P. Russo, Jr. Office of the Auditor General 111 w. Madison Street - Ste 501 Tallahassee, FL 32302 Telephone: (904) 488-0620 Suncom 278-0620 (b) Agency: Sqt. Bill Goatcher Clearwater Police Department 644 Pierce Street Clearwater, FL 34616 Section 10. Severability 10.1 All agreements and covenants herein contained are severable. In the event that any provision of this Agreement should be held to be unenforceable, the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions hereof shall not be affected thereby. Section 11. Attachments and Merqer 11.1 This Agreement (including all exhibits, forms, proposals, and other attachments hereto and all other agreements referred to herein, including, but not limited to the agreement with FNS, or similar writing) incorporates and embodies the entire understanding and agreement between the parties hereto with reference to the subject matter hereof and to any of the matters herein before discussed or 9 - I mentioneJ in reference to the subject matter hereof, all prior promises, representations, agreements, understandings and arrangements thereto being herein merged. 11. 2 The following attachments are -made a part of this contract by reference as though set forth in full herein. Attachment Short Title A "Procedures for state or Local Law Enforcement Agencies to Investigate Misuse of Food Coupons II Food Stamp Inventory Log Food stamp Receipt Postoperative Accounting of Books Agency Proposal, Operation Description, and Request for Food Stamp Coupons Seized Cash and Property Report B C D E F Section 12. Assiqnment 12.1 No right created by this Agreement may be assigned and no duties created by this Agreement may be delegated without the consent of the other party hereto. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties here~o have executed this Agreemen~ by the duly authorized undersigned officials on the date first above written. AGENCY: OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL, DPAF: ~~me E{it~ M. ~ePtula Title Cl ty Manager Date /V~ 7/9..r , / By Name Title Date ATTEST: 10