Sheriff warns against donating to County Police Assistance Network

Carr says CPAN has no legal standing

Carroll County Sheriff Scott Carr warns citizens not to give a penny to anyone collecting for County Police Assistance Network. CPAN has no legal standing and Carr doesn't want anyone conned out out their hard- earned money.State Rep. Betsey Patten, of Center Harbor, was surprised by a letter from CPAN and passed it onto Carr on August 1. "Betsy asked me if I'd ever heard of these guys and, to be honest, I hadn't," he said. "That got my wheels in motion and I started doing some research on what this might be all about."Carr said he checked with Paul Brodeur, of N.H. Attorney General's Office and it appears CPAN, which lists Manchester as its state headquarters, applied for charitable status in 1998 but never filed an annual report, therefore the application, according to Carr, was closed out last May."It's alarming," Carr said. He told a story of a man who posed as a Carroll County sheriff's deputy in 1997 offering to come to the aid of a Chocorua couple who had been in an accident. It turned out one of the people happened to be a state trooper and quickly pointed out he wasn't aware the county had a new deputy. "The person was caught red handed and later said he belonged to CPAN. The public needs to be warned of this sort of thing and that whoever CPAN is, it has no authority to be asking you for money and saying its for a nonprofit cause. It's simply not true."Patten received an eight-page letter from CPAN with Col. Rex G. Snow, Chief Maj. Eugene Svitak and Maj. Michael Charest identified as its leadership. They were seeking the state representative's help."We, as CPAN (County Police Assistance Network), are an organization that exists in the state of New Hampshire," they wrote. "Founded in 1976 by Col. Walter Pittman and Field Maj. Rex G. Snow, CPAN did not become fully operational until 1978."CPAN organized the people of New Hampshire to provide assistance to state and municipal police departments," the letter continued. "Our involvement included supporting local and state law enforcement in traffic control, riot control, special functions, and presidential appearances. We were also instrumental in riot control and maintaining order with regard to protesters at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. CPAN also maintained a high profile in communities, taking part in Scared Straight programs and Neighborhood Crime Watches, as well as making public appearances at school functions and helping the community gain a better understanding of our role in public safety and security. "Since our founding, the letter continues, "our country has undergone dramatic changes, which require our organization to become up to date and more diverse in meeting the needs of our state and our country. We at CPAN are looking to free the hands of local and state police, and to provide security to all major airports, bridges and dams as well as assisting law enforcement in Neighborhood Crime Watch, riot control, all special functions, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and presidential appearances and elections. CPAN is requesting support from our state's leaders in obtaining funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under director Tom Ridge in order that we may begin our mission in this letter for our state and our country , which is fully warranted, needed and deserved for its people."Carr advised people to steer clear of this organization. "Again," he said, "they have no legal authority. To me CPAN seems like a neighborhood crime watch gone on steroids. They're kind of out there."If anyone has any dealings with CPAN, Carr asks that you contact Carroll County Sheriff's Department at 1-800-55-8960.