Mark Steiner was nabbed in a Coconut Grove roadblock in 1995. Seven cops claimed to be witnesses. Steiner blew zeroes and his urine eventually came back clean. He was taking antibiotics, which he said dilated his pupils. "They kept telling me, 'Why don't you just tell us you've been smoking pot and get this over with?' " recalled Steiner, a 30-year-old Palm Beach County salesman. "I didn't think there was much point in me trying to change their opinion." County Court Judge Wendell Graham, who has been hearing DUI cases for two years, said he is outraged when defendants appear before him with a low breath reading and a urine sample that shows no drugs. "It's horrendous, " Graham said. "I think in some of the marginal cases, something else needs to be done besides arrest." The judge said some of the cops are motivated by money. "I've heard defendants in a good two trials, they quoted officers as saying, 'Now watch this, Joe, this is how to make some extra bucks.' And people go, 'Yeah, right.' But I listen to defendants, " Graham said. "People tend to disparage defendants just because they've been charged. But these are by and large good people -- white collar, blue collar, no collar -- who drink too much and drive. Sometimes they say things that make your ears perk up." Police piggybacking on drunk driving cases also puts drunk drivers back on the road. For instance, The Herald found 32 cases in which drivers who had been arrested on DUI charges by Collars for Dollars cops went free because their cases were dropped -- but each was later convicted of drunk driving in another case. More is less

The cops sign on to cases in which they have little or no involvement, knowing that if their name appears in the drunk driving paperwork, it could mean extra money in their paychecks. But the more police witnesses, the less likely the defendant will be convicted, The Herald found in a study of Metro-Dade, Miami and Miami Beach DUI cases. A person accused of drunk driving is 38 percent more likely to walk free in a case with at least seven cops than in a case with fewer than four. The more cops, the more chances for officers to miss important court appearances, which often leads to cases being dismissed. The Herald also found that when there are more cops, there are more chances for defense attorneys to elicit conflicting testimony -- and sometimes outright lies -- before a jury. The cops make so many cases that they are often subpoenaed to more than one courtroom at a time. If they are not in the courtroom when their name is called, the defendant can go free. It happens often, Miami Beach Officer John Corley said in a sworn statement. "State attorney upset. Defendant happy. He gets to go home." These are the stories of drivers who were arrested by Collars for Dollars cops. Some were sober. Others were intoxicated. THE CASE OF THE RED EYES

Suarez Gustavo Suarez was on his way home, a small, half-empty bottle of Night Train wine in his red Camaro, when Miami Beach Police Officer Mark Causey stopped him in 1995. Causey said he could not see the car's temporary license tag. Causey wrote in a police report that Suarez had a "strong odor of alcoholic beverage." But Suarez, then a 20-year-old Winn-Dixie stock clerk who worked at night, said he had drunk only a little, earlier that evening. Soon there were four officers, including a sergeant, on the scene. Two were state-certified as DUI experts. They gave Suarez a roadside sobriety test and determined he was impaired. It was 3 a.m. "That day I was really tired. My eyes were really red, " Suarez said. The red eyes were enough to get him arrested. At the station, Suarez blew .013, well below the legal limit. "When I blew in the little machine, he saw I didn't drink, " Suarez said of the cop who gave him the breath test. "Then he told me the only thing I can do for you now is when you go to court, I'll testify for you." Eventually, seven officers signed on to the case. "There should be no reason why they're all on there, " Miami Beach Chief Barreto said. But he defended the arrest, saying the bottle of wine gave his officers probable cause to charge Suarez. When Suarez's urine sample came back with "no drugs detected, " prosecutors decided to drop the case. "Call off officers, " the file states. A memo went to the Miami Beach Police Department, saying the officers were "NOT" needed in court. Four showed up anyway, costing taxpayers about $368. THE SPEEDING BLUE CONVERTIBLE