SENATOR "STUPID" FOR SMUGGLING POT

By R. Robin McDonald, The Atlanta JournalConstitution

With nearly a fourth of an ounce of marijuana hidden in his underwear,
state Sen. Ralph David Abernathy III (DAtlanta) was detained and fined by
U.S. Customs agents who searched him for contraband Monday as he arrived
from Jamaica at Hartsfield International Airport.

The state legislator was singled out by a drugsniffing dog as he
disembarked from an Air Jamaica flight shortly after 8:30 p.m., U.S.
Customs Service spokesman Michael Sheehan said Wednesday.

Customs agents patted Abernathy down, then conducted a partial strip
search, Sheehan said. Agents found the marijuana in a plastic bag hidden in
his underwear, Sheehan said.

Abernathy pledged to pay a $500 civil fine and was released, Sheehan said.

"We don't arrest or prosecute on low amounts," said Michael J. Vanacore,
assistant special agent in charge of the U.S. Customs Office of
Investigation. Abernathy "was treated the same way we would treat anybody
with that amount," Vanacore said.

In a written statement released by his Senate office, Abernathy confirmed
the drug seizure. "I made a stupid mistake, and I am truly sorry for that,"
he said.

Senate Ethics Committee Chairman Eddie Madden (DElberton) said the
incident poses no threat to Abernathy's place in the Senate. But, he added,
"It reflects badly on the Senate and all elected officials when someone at
this level violates the public trust."