HOUSE OVERSIGHT 018928 Colleagues cite chief's professionalism, REITER from 1B ney's office for two reasons. First, he pressed for Epstein to be charged with the more serious crimes of sexual ac- tivity with minors. Second, he slammed State Attorney Bar- ry Krischer in blunt language seldom used by one law- etforcement official con- cerning another because of what he perceived as that of- fice's mishandling of the case. In a letter to Krischer irritten May 1, Reiter called hig actions in the Epstein case "highly unusual." He added, "I must urge you to. consider if good and suffi- cient 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 in- dictment, Reiter referred the case to the FBI to determine whether 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: profes- sional. "I have always been im- pressed by Mike's profes- sionalism and his leader- ship," said Rick Lincoln, chief of the Lantana Police Depart- ment 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." Reiter: Town Manager Peter Elwell says the Palm Beach police chief's well worth his $144,000 sal- ary. Juno Beach Police Chief H.C. Clark II agreed. Al- though he doesn't know Re- iter well, he has met with him on countywide law enforce- ment issues. "I've never seen him lose his cool. I've never seen anything but a profes- sional demeanor from him." Reiter joined the Palm Beach Police Department in 19