LAPD probe

["Chris Doss" <itschris13@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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From: "Chris Doss" <itschris13@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, lbo-talk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
  mwenisch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx, dwyerdaniel@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: LAPD probe
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 14:07:22 EDT
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>From CNN

                  More convictions overturned in LAPD probe

                  Grand jury hears testimony
                  from officers

                  April 21, 2000
                  Web posted at: 2:53 a.m. EDT (0653 GMT)


                  In this story:

                  'Glad this is done and over with'

                  Officers were 'bystanders' to shooting, say
                  sources

                  Perez claimed ambulance call was delayed

                  RELATED STORIES, SITES




LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A Superior Court judge in Los Angeles has overturned
seven more criminal convictions in connection with the Los Angeles Police
Department corruption scandal, after prosecutors determined the convictions
were based on police misconduct by former Officer Rafael Perez.

And CNN has learned that several Los Angeles police officers testified on
Thursday before a grand jury in connection with the criminal investigation
of the LAPD.

Perez, who has been cooperating with investigators as part of a plea bargain
for stealing cocaine from evidence, has revealed a wide range of alleged
police misconduct -- from planting evidence, to framing and even shooting
innocent people.

Thursday's dismissals were based on recent sworn statements by Perez, in
which he admits police reports were falsified in the cases of Carlos Romero,
Samuel Nolasco, Maria Virula, Gregorio Vasquez and Monique Therese
Cottalorda. He also admitted planting drugs on Rene Vriones, and planting a
gun on Rene Mationg.

'Glad this is done and over with'

After the court proceedings, 23-year old Mationg concurred that he was
framed by Perez, and "was glad ... all this is done and over with."

The former Temple Street gang member also claimed he was targeted by Perez
after being acquitted in a previous unrelated murder case -- a case in which
Perez testified against him.

In a written statement, Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti
said, "We are committed to getting to the bottom of the ... scandal, and our
priorities remain the same: to free anyone who is wrongfully imprisoned and
to put together cases that will lead to the successful prosecution of
corrupt police officers."

To date, 67 defendants have had their cases set aside as a result of the
scandal.

Officers were 'bystanders' to shooting, say sources

No criminal charges have been filed since the scandal unfolded last year,
but sources close to the investigation told CNN that officers have testified
as witnesses in at least one shooting that involved an officer, which Perez
called a "dirty" shooting.

Most of the officers called before the grand jury were "bystanders" to that
shooting, sources indicated.

Perez has been cooperating with investigators in exchange for a plea bargain
with government prosecutors after a felony cocaine conviction last year.

In sworn statements published in the Los Angeles Times, Perez said officers
from the Rampart Division went to an apartment building on July 20, 1996,
searching for gang members suspected of planning a retaliatory attack for a
fatal drive-by shooting the night before.

According to Perez there was a shootout in which police fired 10 rounds that
led to the killing of 21-year-old Juan Manuel Saldana and the wounding of
two others.

Perez claimed ambulance call was delayed

Perez said officers deliberately delayed calling an ambulance for the
wounded while they concocted a story and fabricated evidence, including
planting a gun on Saldana.

In a videotape obtained by CNN, Perez can be seen congregating with fellow
officers shortly after the shooting.

Winston Kevin McKesson, Perez's attorney, told CNN that Perez was telling
the truth, but several attorneys representing the officers implicated in the
scandal told CNN that Perez was lying to avoid a lengthy prison sentence.

CNN has also learned that a police sergeant who supervised the Rampart's
gang-suppression unit and was present at the shooting has also appeared
before the grand jury. An attorney for the officer declined to comment on
why a subpoena was issued.

In a LAPD Board of Inquiry report, released in March, the shooting incident
was determined to be "in policy" and no administrative action was taken
until Perez told investigators that officers routinely engaged in criminal
behavior.

At least two shooting incidents have emerged as a focus of the criminal
investigation which could result in conspiracy, attempted murder or murder
charges against police officers, sources told CNN.

More than two dozen officers have been fired, relieved of duty or quit as a
result of the scandal and at least 70 are under investigation.

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