The Choice Is Ours. This is one in a series of World-Herald articles looking back on the 20 th century. When Nebraska law officers confiscate large bundles of cash linked to drug dealing, the state's constitution directs that half the money go to schools. But that rarely happens. Instead, police funnel the drug money through the federal government, which takes a 20 percent cut and returns the rest to the local law-enforcement agency that confiscated the money.
Schools get nothing.
It's an end run around the state constitution, but it's allowed under federal rules for handling assets seized from drug dealers. Law enforcement officials in Nebraska say the maneuver is proper and useful. It gives them extra cash to help finance their fight against drug traffickers. State Patrol Maj. But some Nebraska lawmakers don't like the sidestepping of the Constitution, and several legal experts question whether police ought to profit from seizing suspects' money.