BY DON FINEFROCK

 A captain in the county's corrections department allowed Miami-Dade
 Commissioner Pedro Reboredo and his wife to pass bottled water and
 cell phones to Cuban-American protesters arrested this month, in clear
 violation of jail policy, a group of black officers charged Wednesday.

 About 18 officers and their supporters demonstrated outside the county's
 pretrial detention center on Northwest 13th Street, calling for an investigation
 of those and other allegations involving jail security.

 ''We have information that Reboredo was in the jail. His wife was in the jail.
 It was a circus. All the rules were broken,'' said Walter Clark, president of
 the Organization of Minority Correctional Officers.

 Reboredo declined to talk to a reporter Wednesday. ''He is not going to talk to
 anyone, said Janet Launcelott, an aide to the commissioner.''

 Department officials said Wednesday there will be a formal investigation of what
 happened inside the jail Jan. 6 after 139 people were arrested during street
 protests. The protests were prompted by the international tug-of-war over Elian
 Gonzalez, the Cuban boy rescued at sea on Thanksgiving Day.

 ''There is going to be a formal investigation done by the department, based on the
 allegations, by our internal affairs section,'' said Janelle Hall, a spokeswoman for
 the corrections department.

 Hall said a preliminary review by the department uncovered ''irregularities but no
 violations of jail procedures.''

 ''The finding was that the procedures of the department were adhered to,'' Hall
 said. ''There were, however, some irregularities discovered that night, but they
 were corrected on the spot.''

 Hall said those irregularities included cell phones and bottled water. ''There were
 those items being passed around, and they were confiscated,'' she said.

 Hall said she could not confirm that Reboredo and his wife were involved in those
 activities.

 Demonstrators Wednesday carried signs alleging that county commissioners had
 violated the county's ethics rules and its charter. The county charter prohibits the
 mayor and commissioners from giving orders to any county employee other than
 the county manager.

 Paul Philip, the former FBI agent who serves as a senior assistant to County
 Manager Merrett Stierheim for criminal justice, said all allegations will be
 investigated, including what role, if any, Reboredo played.

 ''If we have a complaint about anybody, we will investigate,'' Philip said. ''We will
 look at what the specifics are and what the witnesses have to say and go from
 there.''

 The allegations raised by Clark and others are outlined in two letters written by
 corrections officers and addressed to Lois Spears, the department director. The
 letters were released by Clark's organization. Only one mentions Reboredo by
 name.

 UNAVAILABLE

 Spears was out of the office Wednesday and unavailable for comment.

 Both letters allege that Capt. Armando Quinoa, one of the senior officers in
 charge the night of the arrests, gave special treatment to the protesters and
 allowed cell phones and bottled water into a restricted area of the jail.

 The letters also charge that Quinoa violated policy by releasing protesters without
 bond, before background checks were done for outstanding warrants.

 ''Captain Quinoa's actions violated the rules and procedures, and he allowed
 others not in the department to violate those rules and procedures. Others have
 been terminated for less,'' officer Rodney L. Murray wrote in his letter.

 Murray, who was present that night, could not be reached Wednesday. The other
 letter was written by Cory Barney, vice president of the organization of minority
 officers, and one of those who demonstrated on Wednesday.

 Barney was not present the night of the demonstrations.

 Quinoa declined to comment for this story.

 ''He was advised that it would be in his best interest to wait until after the
 investigation was completed,'' Hall said.

 But Hall defended Quinoa's actions, saying it was the director's decision to
 release the protesters without bond.

 ''There were a lot of people that were aged. We had some people who had some
 health problems,'' Hall said. ''She saw fit to [release] those people. The captain
 did not make that decision. The department director did.''

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald