The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 7

4B THE PALM BEACH POST MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2006 MSL CfiJ'OFPT RVrtV Palm Beach chief focus of fire in Epstein case By LARRY KELLER Palm Beach Post Staff Writer In the case of Palm Beach financier Jeffrey Epstein, it seems, at times, as if two men are accused of wrongdoing: Epstein and Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter. Epstein, 53, was indicted last month on a charge of felony solicitation of prostitution solely because of Reiter's "craziness" one of Epstein's lawyers said. His department disseminated "a distorted view of the case" and behaved in a "childish" man ner when the grand jury didn't indict Epstein on the charges it sought, another Epstein lawyer complained. To hear the Epstein camp tell it, Reiter, 48, is a loose cannon better suited to be the sheriff of Mayberry. They whisper that he's embroiled in a messy divorce.

Reiter did in fact file for divorce from his wife, Jill, last year, after 24 years of marriage. They have a son, 18, and a daughter, 14. The couple is scheduled to go to mediation next week, Aug. 16. Relter: Town Manager Peter Elwell says the Palm Beach police chiefs well worth his $144,000 UBBY VOLGYESStaff Photographer Marc McKnight (above) of Atreyu performs at the only Florida show of Ozzfest 2006, which took place at Sound Advice Amphitheatre Sunday.

Metal heads revel in Ozzfest's rebel culture professional. "I have always been impressed by Mike's professionalism and his leadership," said Rick Lincoln, chief of the Lantana Police Department and a Palm Beach County cop for 32 years. "The town of Palm Beach has a very professional police department. We all consider Mike to be our peer and a man of integrity." Juno Beach Police Chief H.C. Clark II agreed.

While he doesn't know Reiter well, he has met with him on countywide law enforcement issues. "I've never seen him lose his cool. I've never seen anything but a pro-. fessional demeanor from him." Reiter joined the Palm Beach Police Department in 1981, leaving a patrol job at the University of Pittsburgh. His personnel jacket shows consistently excellent job evaluations.

Posh Palm Beach is no hotbed of crime, and in his first year on the job, a resident confined to his home with a sick child thanked Reiter for delivering a few Cokes to the house. Reiter refused payment for the beverages. Another resident thanked Reiter for shutting off his car's headlights in his driveway, saying a valet must have been at fault. Reiter. worked everywhere from road patrol to organized crime, vice and narcotics.

And he's no novice at investigations involving the island's rich and famous. He was the lead detective probing the drug overdose death of David Kennedy in 1984. He also was one of the officers who worked the investigation of William Kennedy Smith, who was charged in 1991 and later acquitted with raping a woman at the Kennedy family compound in Palm Beach. Reiter, who has a master's degree in human resource development from Palm Beach Atlantic University, also has attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico, and management courses at Harvard. He's been active in countywide interagency law enforcement organizations and has a "top secret" national security clearance.

"He has a perspective that's broader than just addressing the needs of the town," said Town Manager Peter Elwell, who promoted Reiter from assistant chief to chief in March 2001. Reiter makes more than $144,000 as the town's top cop. Elwell thinks he's worth it. "He's very businesslike, very straightforward. He's not easily agitated or flamboyant He's about the work," Elwell said.

"I think that his service as chief has been outstanding in five-plus years." lanykellerpbpost.com More metal fun See more photos from Sunday's show, plus tell us what you thought in our online poll. PalmBeachPost.com Nothing in the court file suggests their split is particularly ugly. Reiter incurred the wrath of the Epstein camp as well as the state attorney's office for two reasons. First, he pressed for Epstein to be charged with the more serious crimes of sexual activity with minors. Second, he slammed State Attorney Barry Krischer in blunt language seldom used by one law enforcement official with another because of what he perceived as that office's mishandling of the case.

In a letter to Krischer written May 1, Reiter called his actions in the Epstein case "highly unusual," He added, "I must urge you to consider if good and sufficient reason exists to require your disqualification from the prosecution of these cases." In short, Reiter told the county's top prosecutor for the past 13 years that he ought to get off the case. "It looks like a departure from professionalism," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said of Reiter's letter. Following Epstein's indictment, Reiter referred the case to the FBI to determine if the super-rich, super-connected defendant had violated any federal laws. Reiter won't discuss the case or the broadsides aimed at him. But others almost uniformly use one word to describe the chief: ter of minutes.

Then again, some concertgoers said that was also part of the festival's freakish appeal. "I love the heat Bring it on," said Tarra Polcser, an Orlando resident who traveled with a group to the show, which was Ozzfest's only date in Florida. About the only thing missing from Ozzfest was Ozzy himself. Osbourne has played only a few dates on this year's tour and the gig near West Palm Beach wasn't one of them. But it was hard to find a By CHARLES PASSY Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Pick a form of anti-social expression, any form of antisocial expression.

You could kick a soccer ball at a man's head. You could sport a baseball cap that says, "Alcoholics." ain't no anonymous here," said one wearer.) Or, in the case of a particularly pregnant woman, you could show off the temporary tattoo you had freshly air-brushed on your swollen stomach of a dancing devil child, naturally. Ah, yes, it's time for Ozzfest, that traveling full-day festival that celebrates all things dark and evil. The 11-year-old event, spearheaded by heavy-metal legend Ozzy Osbourne and wife Sharon, made its annual visit to the Sound Advice Amphitheatre Sunday, attracting a sold-out crowd of nearly 20,000. Theoretically, they came for the music, an 11-hour roster of bands some established, some up-and-coming whose names often revealed their doomsday point of view, as in featured groups Bad Acid Trip, Between the Buried and Me, Full Blown Chaos, Bleeding Through and Black Label Society.

The bands' modus operandi? The louder, the better. And don't forget to remind concertgoers to have a really festive time, though the artists usually phrased such requests with slightly more, um, colorful language. But for the most part, the fans seemed to treat the music as a sideshow. The real event was the scene that surrounded it: the vendors selling drug paraphernalia (or were those just decorative glass "objets the game booths that included the one where you could win an Ozzfest T-shirt if you indeed kicked a soccer ball at some poor soul's noggin and the concertgoers who showed off all manner of piercings and tattoos. And if that wasn't freakish enough, there was a freak show, too, a tented affair recalling the ones from carnivals of yesteryear.

The barker outside promised freaks "the likes of which you've never seen before" provided you ponied up the $5 admission. Adding to the festival's hellacious mix: the midday temperatures that seemed to turn a cold $8 Budweiser into steaming beer soup in a mat- concertgoer who made a big deal of the aging wildman rocker-turned-reality TV AAA ALL BRANDS HEARING AID SERVICE star's absence. In fact, a few said it was probably time for him to retire. After all, rebel lion is a young person's sport. Said "Quazzy" Mohr, attendee from Orlando "I'd rather remember him for what he was than see him up there in a wheelchair.

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They had been sleeping in wet clothes, and their hair had been cut," Jusino said. The boy got out of bed in the middle of the night to tell a drill sergeant he didn't feel well, and collapsed on the way to the bathroom, Browne said Saturday. She has said the boy's mother told her that her son "wasn't the most physical, strong or athletic child." Academy officials have not released additional information about the cadet's death to parents, Jusino said. The academy subcontracts with Fort Lauderdale-based Juvenile Military Training and Leadership Corp. The camp is run by certified National Guard drill sergeants, Browne has said.

Oleta River State Park, Florida's largest urban park, offers canoeing and kayaking, saltwater fishing and off-road bicycling trails. In January, a 14-year-old boy died after a confrontation with guards at a Panama City boot camp for juvenile offenders operated by the Bay County Sheriffs Office. Martin Lee Anderson died one day after being roughed up by guards. His death remains under investigation. The state's government-operated military-style boot camp system was shut down in May.

Tlie Associated Press MIAMI A 13-year-old private military academy cadet who died while camping at a state park repeatedly refused food throughout the excursion, the father of two other cadets said Sunday. Victor Jusino of Sunrise said his sons, ages 9 and 10, told him the boy, whose name has not been released, continuously threw away food after the 33 cadets arrived early Wednesday at Oleta River State Park for the Back to Basics Christian Military Academy's Training and Leadership Corps campout. The academy's principal, Lynda Browne, did not return messages left at the school Sunday. North Miami police have released few details about their investigation into the 13-year-old's death. An autopsy was scheduled for today.

"They described to me that he wasn't eating. He wasn't feeling well. His stomach was hurting him and the heat was getting to him," Jusino said. "The whole trip, he was throwing away food while he was there." Jusino said his sons told him they were given three meals a day after starting each morning with a long hike. But the boys were dehydrated, sunburned and had insect bites when he picked them up Saturday morning at the North Miami police station.

The oldest boy also told his father one of the drill sergeants had pushed him up against a tree Delivering Newspapers Fits My Schedule Newspaper routes now available. Call today for more details. You can build your own business, too! You should have: A valid driver's license and insurance, reliable car or other method of delivery A few hours to devote to your route Collections not required "My newspaper route gives me time to pursue my education. KeiihWchb Home Delivery Conrracior Florida Mango (561) 820-3251 Boynton Beach (561)820-3354 Delray and Boca (561) 279-3491 i Greenacres (561)820-3331 I Jupiter (561)820-3201 I Lake Worth (561)820-3309 Mangonia Park (561)820-3236 Palm Beach Gardens (561) 820-3094 Port St Lucie (772)344-2540 Royal Palm Beach (561)820-3601 Stuart (772)223-3580 Note Proflrs and expetws vary per rrxrtR and are not guaranteed Post Books Editor Scott Eyman keeps you up on what's being published. Plus, a week's worth of book reviews and The New York Times Bestsellers List.

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