________________________________________________________________________________ -- New L.A. police scandal -- Man allegedly framed by LAPD files lawsuit -- Los Angeles prosecutors get reports in police corruption scandal -- 4 more Los Angeles police officers relieved of duty -- Los Angeles police want 3 officers charged -- Judge overturns 10 more convictions tied to L.A. police corruption probe -- Ex-officer says convictions against 99 people wrongfully obtained -- Los Angeles police scandal may be helping the guilty -- Testimony: Allegedly corrupt LAPD cops gave each other awards -- Outside probe of LAPD corruption scandal demanded -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New L.A. police scandal Sting results in officer's arrest on heroin charge October 1, 1999 Web posted at: 3:05 p.m. EDT (1905 GMT) LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- In the latest scandal to tarnish the Los Angeles police department, a veteran officer was arrested for possession of a small amount of heroin. But Police Chief Bernard Parks says the case is unrelated to an ongoing corruption investigation involving cocaine theft and the police shooting of a man who was imprisoned on trumped-up charges. Narcotics Detective Richard Ginelli was being held on $10,000 bail after his arrest Thursday for possession of a controlled substance that had been seized from a suspect. At a news conference, Parks said internal affairs officers conducted a sting operation in response to colleagues' suspicions about Ginelli. "The sting involved placing some narcotics at a location to see if he booked the full amount," said the police chief, who has known Ginelli for 24 years. "It's a loss to the department -- another issue in which an officer did not meet the standards, even an officer who had 35 years of service." Shot man was framed, ex-officer says The arrest came amid an investigation that has turned up allegations of abuses in the police department's Rampart division. At the heart of that probe is Rafael Perez, a former narcotics officer who told police that in 1996 he and his partner handcuffed and shot Honduran immigrant Javier Ovando and then planted a gun on him, framing Ovando for assaulting a police officer. Ovando, now paralyzed from the waist down, was freed last month after serving two years of a 23-year jail term. Perez made the allegations of wrongdoing in an effort to obtain a lighter punishment when he is sentenced October 22 after pleading guilty to stealing eight pounds of cocaine, worth $1 million, from an evidence room. Perez has been fired and 11 other officers have been relieved of duty with pay as a result of the drug scandal in the Rampart division, which patrols a poor, mostly Hispanic, neighborhood not far from downtown's skyscrapers. Disappearing evidence The arrest of Ginelli, who worked in the Harbor Division some 25 miles away, was unrelated, Parks said. "Certainly our investigation ... because of thefts from evidence caused us to look at all of our systems and then when Perez was arrested..., certainly those incidents prompted us to move forward in many areas," Parks said. Internal affairs officers began investigating Ginelli after new officers in his narcotics squad became suspicious about him and disappearing evidence, Parks said without elaborating. When Ginelli did not turn in a small amount of heroin recovered during a search of a vehicle, which had been purported to belong to a narcotics suspect, he was arrested. Afterward, Ginelli said he took the narcotics for his personal use and that no other officers or individuals were involved, Parks said. Correspondent Charles Feldman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. http://cnn.com/US/9910/01/lapd.corruption/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Man allegedly framed by LAPD files lawsuit October 13, 1999 Web posted at: 5:22 a.m. EDT (0922 GMT) LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Javier Ovando, who was allegedly framed by Los Angeles Police Department officers in a shooting for which he spent three years in prison, has filed a lawsuit in California State court. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday against officers involved in the shooting, the City of Los Angeles, and LAPD Police Chief Bernard Parks, among others, seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages. Ovando's attorney, Gregory Moreno, says the suit seeks damages for the "false arrest, the wrongful shooting, the violation of Mr. Ovando's constitutional rights for [the officers] having intentionally shot him, attempting to kill him...murder him...After shooting him in the body, they actually shot him in the head, which left him mentally and physically incapacitated." Ovando, 22, was freed from prison last month after a jailed ex-police officer, Rafael Perez, told prosecutors he and his partner framed Ovando by planting a gun on him in a shooting which left Ovando paralyzed from the waist down and sent him to prison for a crime he apparently did not commit. Officer Perez described the alleged frame-up as part of a plea agreement on drug charges he entered into with the district attorney. Perez's allegations have led to a widespead investigation of corruption within the LAPD, which so far has resulted in several officers being relieved of field duty, and the termination of another. http://cnn.com/US/9910/13/lapd.suit.01/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Los Angeles prosecutors get reports in police corruption scandal November 25, 1999 Web posted at: 12:39 a.m. EST (0539 GMT) LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The Los Angeles District Attorney's office has received its first reports from the Los Angeles Police Department in a corruption scandal that could lead to criminal prosecution of police officers. According to the district attorney's office, the preliminary reports cite two officers within the police department against whom a case might be built. One of the officers was identified as Nino Durden. Durden was the partner of Rafael Perez, a former LAPD officer whose disclosures resulted in a massive police probe. The other officer cited in the reports was not immediately identified. The DA's office said on Wednesday the reports are the first evidence presented to them by LAPD officials as part of the widening corruption investigation. Former policeman says innocent man framed Perez has been providing authorities with information on alleged wrongdoing within the department. As part of a plea bargain on a drug charge, Perez admitted that he and his partner framed an innocent man, Javier Ovando. Ovando was released from prison in September after serving three years for a crime he apparently did not commit. He was shot and paralyzed during his arrest. The DA's office stressed that the reports are preliminary and may or may not lead to criminal charges. The disclosures by Perez launched the largest investigation in LAPD history. More than 1,500 cases involving officers from LA's Rampart Division are currently under review. While the district attorney's office calls Wednesday's development "significant," LAPD spokeswoman Lt. Sharyn Buck said the information turned over to the DA's office was not significant, but was simply part of the ongoing investigation. http://cnn.com/US/9911/25/lapd.reports/index.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 more Los Angeles police officers relieved of duty January 14, 2000 Web posted at: 10:54 p.m. EST (0354 GMT) From staff and wire reports LOS ANGELES -- Four more Los Angeles police officers in the Rampart division were relieved of duty this week as part of an ongoing corruption probe -- the biggest scandal to hit the department in more than half a century. What began with the admission of one former officer that he helped frame an innocent man has now mushroomed into a scandal that so far has tainted at least 20 officers. Officers are said to have framed people for crimes they did not commit, lied in court to obtain convictions and in some cases shot innocent people. But so far, no officer has actually been slapped with criminal charges, and that fact is fueling speculation that politics may be playing an unwanted role. While the evidence thus far assembled has been persuasive enough to overturn 11 criminal convictions -- and prosecutors say up to 40 more could be overturned -- no criminal charges have been filed against any of the suspected officers. "It's troublesome for the officers who have been assigned to home," said Dennis Zine, vice president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. "While they're still receiving their pay and benefits, there's this cloud over them." Garcetti faces March primary Making matters worse is the feeling among some police investigators that Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti -- who is facing a primary election in March -- may be playing high stakes politics by waiting until close to election day to announce any criminal indictments, thereby gaining maximum political advantage. That feeling stems from the fact that many police investigators feel confident that the district attorney already has more than enough evidence to indict some of the officers. But at a news conference Friday, Garcetti rejected any such notion. "We are proceeding in a regular organized pace. We are trying to protect the innocent as well as hold the guilty accountable. When we have sufficient evidence to move forward, we shall," said Garcetti. 'We need to have some closure' The union representing the suspended officers is hoping for some conclusion sooner rather than later. "We need to have some closure in this situation because of the psychological damage it's causing to those people in this state of uncertainty," said Zine. Police sources say it is very likely that more officers will be relieved of duty in the weeks to come -- joining the cast of fellow officers left wandering in the twilight zone. Rafael Perez, the former officer who broke the scandal open, was named in a lawsuit filed Wednesday by a woman who said he and his former partner beat her and stole her rent money and savings. The lawsuit, which also names Perez's former partner, Nino Durden, and several department officials, seeks $10 million, said Cynthia Diaz's attorney, Stephen Yagman. Perez, a former anti-gang officer, has pleaded guilty to stealing eight pounds of cocaine. As part of a deal expected to shave time off his prison sentence, he is giving detectives information about past cases where he said Rampart officers beat, framed and shot people. Correspondent Charles Feldman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. http://cnn.com/2000/US/01/14/lapd.scandal/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Los Angeles police want 3 officers charged January 15, 2000 Web posted at: 7:11 p.m. EST (0011 GMT) From staff and wire reports LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Police Department has asked prosecutors to charge at least three officers linked to the city's worst police corruption scandal in decades, CNN learned Saturday. An ongoing probe into the department has uncovered alleged unjustified shootings, beatings, drug dealing, evidence planting and false arrests. Detectives presented District Attorney Gil Garcetti's office with evidence implicating the officers, according to LAPD Commander David Kalish. The crimes range from assault to perjury. 'We expect the DA to move quickly' "We believe we have more than enough evidence to file criminal charges against at least three officers," he said. "We are anxious and expect the DA to move quickly." Prosecutors would not comment on the recommendation, which came from a special task force investigating police corruption. The department declined to name the officers. The criminal charges would be the first to grow out of the scandal since former officer-turned-informant Rafael Perez began cooperating with authorities and implicating officers in wrongdoing. Perez has pleaded guilty to stealing eight pounds of cocaine from an evidence locker. Some police sources said that the DA's office received recommendations of prosecution months ago. 11 convictions overturned Since the corruption scandal became public in August, 11 criminal convictions have been overturned and four inmates have been released from prison. In addition, 20 officers have resigned or been relieved of duty, suspended without pay or fired in connection with the scandal. More than 15,000 cases involving LAPD officers are currently under review. Among other allegations, Perez has implicated himself and his former partner, officer Nino Durden in a shooting, telling detectives he and Durden planted a gun on Javier Francisco Ovando to justify their action. Perez said he and Durden then perjured themselves in court, saying Ovando had attacked them. Ovando, who was sentenced to 23 years in prison for assaulting a police officer, has since had his conviction set aside and been freed. He was left paralyzed by the shooting and has filed a lawsuit against the city. Correspondent Charles Feldman, Producer Stan Wilson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. http://cnn.com/2000/US/01/15/lapd.scandal/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Judge overturns 10 more convictions tied to L.A. police corruption probe January 25, 2000 Web posted at: 9:45 p.m. EST (0245 GMT) LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The criminal justice system in Los Angeles had never seen anything like it: a judge overturning 10 drug and weapons convictions in one day because the people were allegedly framed by rogue Los Angeles police officers. But that's what happened Tuesday. To date, 21 convictions have been set aside, and more such actions are expected from the widening corruption probe of the Los Angeles Police Department. One other case was dismissed prior to trial or plea bargain. "If you cannot have faith and trust in your police officer -- either as a citizen or as a juror or as a judge, as defense lawyers, as a district attorney -- then we do not have an acceptable, a viable criminal justice system," said Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti, who sought the dismissals. He also called the scandal "the most important case I have seen this office handle in my 31 years here. It goes to the heart of the criminal justice system." The district attorney said his office probably will seek reversal of another two to three dozen cases contaminated by false testimony and the planting of evidence. Some wrongly convicted already served time The probe has centered on an anti-gang unit in the LAPD's Rampart Division. One of the worst corruption scandals in department history began to unfold when disgraced officer Rafael Perez, in an effort to shorten a sentence for his conviction on charges of stealing cocaine from a police evidence locker, implicated himself and others. So far, 20 officers are under investigation for everything from framing innocent people by planting evidence -- to shooting people without cause. Some prisoners have been released from prison or jail -- but many others had already served their time for crimes they did not commit. Paul Thompson, 34, served half of a six-year sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm before his conviction was overturned and he was ordered immediately freed from prison. Perez has admitted he testified falsely during Thompson's trial. Thompson plans to sue but remains fearful of police, said his attorney, Carlos Spiga. "He's afraid the police will try to dirty him up and compromise any civil action," Spiga told reporters. Also reversed was the drug conviction of Octavio Davalos. The 41-year-old upholstery worker served 91 days and received three years of probation after pleading guilty to possessing and selling cocaine and marijuana. Perez has said he falsified the police report. "I was never guilty of nothing," Davalos told reporters. He said he agreed to a plea bargain because he was threatened with eight years in prison. Estimated 4,000 cases being reviewed Davalos' lawyer told Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler his client would like to recover expenses in connection with the case. Fidler said a civil lawyer would surely be able to advise him. "Since you are the first person present on this matter, the court's apologies," the judge told Davalos. The Los Angeles Police Department has already recommended to the district attorney the prosecution of at least three of the suspected officers on criminal charges. But as the investigation grows, that number is surely to rise. Meanwhile, with estimates of the number of cases being reviewed ranging from 1,500 all the way up to 4,000, the criminal justice system in Los Angeles County is clearly in crisis. Correspondent Charles Feldman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. http://cnn.com/2000/US/01/25/lapd.probe.03/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAPD chief: Ex-officer says convictions against 99 people wrongfully obtained January 27, 2000 Web posted at: 12:36 a.m. EST (0536 GMT) From Correspondent Charles Feldman LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A former Los Angeles Police Department officer has identified 99 individuals --involved in 57 cases -- whose convictions were wrongly obtained, according to LAPD Police Chief Bernard Parks. Parks said the cases were uncovered during an internal investigation involving allegedly corrupt LAPD officers. So far, 21 convictions have been overturned -- 10 on Tuesday alone -- in the wake of the growing scandal. Parks said the 99 figure includes some of the 21 convictions already made public. Crime and punishment The former officer, Rafael Perez, as part of a plea deal to lighten his own sentence for stealing cocaine from a police evidence locker, has implicated himself and others in crimes ranging from planting evidence to shooting unarmed suspects. So far, at least 20 officers have been placed under investigation and the the police department has recommended that the Los Angeles County District Attorney bring criminal charges against at least three of them. More than 1,500 -- some say as many as 4,000 cases -- are currently being reviewed. On Tuesday, the district attorney said in the next few weeks he may seek the setting aside of as many as three dozen cases, but that was before the latest development. http://cnn.com/2000/US/01/27/lapd.update/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Los Angeles police scandal may be helping the guilty February 9, 2000 Web posted at: 10:16 p.m. EST (0316 GMT) From Charles Feldman in Los Angeles LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Are criminals getting off the hook because of police misbehavior? There is growing alarm among some Los Angeles judges that that is one effect of the mushrooming police scandal, known as Rampart, named after a division in the city's police department. The scandal broke in September. In maybe a dozen cases thus far, there is growing evidence to suggest that jurors are simply refusing to believe police testimony in court, said Larry Fidler, supervising judge for the Los Angeles Superior Court Criminal Division. The spillover may be from the unfolding police corruption scandal. It has been alleged that officers in the now-disgraced anti-gang Rampart Division fabricated evidence, lied in court to win convictions on false charges, perjured themselves, committed assaults and even shot people. At least 99 people, the police chief thinks, were wrongly and falsely accused by apparently corrupt cops working out of the Rampart Division. At least 32 criminal cases have been reversed as a result of the investigation, and 20 officers have been relieved of duty, suspended or fired or have quit. Now, says Fidler, "We are starting to see, based upon the information I get from the judges I supervise, that verdicts are being affected, not so much from the evidence that was presented in a particular case, but based, apparently -- because there appears to be no other reason -- on the Rampart scandal." Fidler continued, "It is also very terrible when people who are overwhelmingly guilty walk away when the only reason is because there is a general feeling now in the public -- if that's what it's coming to -- that police officers' testimony can't be trusted. And that would be a terrible result of what's taking place in Rampart." Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, said the scandal may have a positive result. "For far too long, jurors and judges believed police officers and have given additional weight to the testimony of police officers," Ripston said. "So very often, innocent people have been convicted, and I think we're beginning to see a balance now because of the Rampart scandal." http://cnn.com/2000/US/02/09/lapd.effects/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Testimony: Allegedly corrupt LAPD cops gave each other awards More calls for independent probe of Rampart Division February 10, 2000 Web posted at: 11:15 p.m. EST (0415 GMT) From staff and wire reports LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Testimony from a former Los Angeles police officer to investigators looking into police corruption has opened a window into an ominous world where allegedly corrupt cops brazenly rewarded each other for their actions. That disclosure has increased calls for an independent commission to wrest control of the slow-paced probe. At the center of the controversy is the police force's Rampart Division, headquartered in a poor, gang-ridden Mexican section of the city. The ongoing probe also led Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti to announce Thursday that he plans to go into court next week and seek to have six to 10 more convictions overturned. LAPD Chief Bernard Parks has previously identified 99 people who he says were wrongly convicted based on false testimony by LAPD officers. Allegations include shooting innocent people A source familiar with the ongoing LAPD corruption scandal told CNN that as many as 70 current and former officers are being investigated for everything from alleged criminal activities to departmental misdeeds. At least 20 of those are being investigated by a special LAPD criminal task force looking into so-called "hard-core" criminal activity that includes planting evidence and shooting unarmed and innocent people. The remaining 50 are being investigated by the department's Internal Affairs Division for various departmental and administrative infractions. Testimony by former officer Rafael Perez led investigators to the 20 officers under criminal investigation and to about half of those being looked at by Internal Affairs. Ex-cop: Supervisors took part in cover-up Perez is at the center of the scandal. As part of a plea agreement to reduce his sentence for his conviction on drug charges, Perez has implicated himself and others in a scandal that has engulfed the department and has led to 30 people having their convictions overturned. The source told CNN that Perez has told investigators some of the alleged corrupt officers in the department's Rampart Division actually gave each other awards after being involved in shooting unarmed and innocent people. Perez told investigators that some supervisory personnel holding the rank of sergeant were actively involved in a cover-up of the illegal activities, according to the source. Much of officer's testimony corroborated The source said it now appears the illegal activity within the Rampart Division's CRASH unit, an elite anti-drug and anti-gang squad, was far more organized than previously thought. In effect, the source says, a sinister "subculture" developed within that particular unit at Rampart. While some are troubled by the fact that Perez flunked a lie-detector test, the source said investigators have corroborated independently much of what he has alleged. Ramona Ripston, director of the southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said an independent panel -- along the lines of the Christopher Commission that investigated the 1991 beating of black motorist Rodney King by white Los Angeles police officers -- should be appointed to probe the current scandal. Correspondent Charles Feldman and Reuters contributed to this report. http://cnn.com/2000/US/02/10/lapd.scandal/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Outside probe of LAPD corruption scandal demanded February 16, 2000 Web posted at: 1:12 a.m. EST (0612 GMT) From staff and wire reports LOS ANGELES -- Top Los Angeles and state officials on Tuesday denounced the scandal that has rocked the Los Angeles Police Department and called for a new independent investigation -- with one city councilman saying the scandal's impact was just short of a natural disaster. Councilman Joel Wachs, a potential mayoral candidate, told reporters an independent civilian commission should take over the investigation of the scandal, in which officers are alleged to have shot and framed innocent victims, planted evidence and lied on the witness stand. Wachs described the revelations as "a crisis of unprecedented proportion" which could be "the worst man-made disaster the city has ever faced" His call for an independent citizen probe will be presented for a vote at the February 22 City Council meeting. Police chief, mayor respond to critics Police Chief Bernard Parks, speaking to the City Council, sharply disagreed with the calls for an outside investigation. "Every bit of information that you know about this case has been developed by LAPD investigators," Parks said. "It has come from LAPD personnel working daily attempting to rid out the corruption that we have seen. This is going to be a long- term case, and we ask just one thing: The support that allows us to complete our job unhindered." The police department's full report is to be presented to the Los Angeles Police Commission by March 1. Mayor Richard Riordan has so far rejected calls for outside agencies or commissions to intervene, saying the police should investigate themselves. Riordan, Parks and Police Commission President Gerald Chaliff asked the City Council for financial support of an investigation by the inspector general's office -- the investigative arm of the police commission. The City Council unanimously approved the motion for an inspector general's probe. The police commission was asked to prepare a report by February 22 identifying how much money and what resources the inspector general will require. Others echo call for outside probes State Sen. Tom Hayden, along with several civil rights groups, including the ACLU of Southern California, have organized a "Coalition for Police Accountability." Speaking at a news conference outside police headquarters Tuesday, Hayden called on the police department to implement a five-point reform plan developed by the coalition. He said the state attorney general's office and the civil rights division of the Department of Justice should probe the scandal. "The only possibility of reform in Los Angeles, which is a 'see no, hear no evil' city, is if there is the glaring eye of outside investigators from Sacramento and from Washington D.C.," Hayden said. Elizabeth Schroeder of the ACLU said at the news conference, "We are convinced that meaningful change will not occur until the police are no longer allowed to police themselves." Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU of southern California, announced an advertising campaign calling on Riordan "to take action and bring accountability to the LAPD." As many as 70 officers investigated A source familiar with the ongoing probe has told CNN that as many as 70 current and former officers are being investigated for everything from alleged criminal activities to departmental misdeeds. The widening scandal began when former officer Rafael Perez - - as part of a plea agreement to reduce his sentence for his conviction on drug charges -- implicated himself and others. So far, some 30 people have had their convictions overturned as a result of the scandal. Garcetti defends lack of prosecutions Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti has come under fire for not prosecuting any of the more than 30 officers who have been either fired or relieved of duty over the scandal, which is centered on the police department's Rampart Division. But Garcetti has said his priority is to free wrongly convicted prisoners. So far, 32 convictions have been overturned by a judge at the request of Garcetti's office. Another half dozen or so prisoners are expected to be freed later this week. Garcetti has said he wants to build a strong case against the officers so they will be found guilty "and go to prison for a long time." Testimony describes police beatings Officers linked to the scandal intimidated gang members by punching and choking them, and then fabricated police reports to explain the injuries, according to testimony from Perez. Transcripts of his testimony to a police task force were reported Monday by the Daily News of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Times. In one case, police said an alleged beating victim's bloodied face resulted from his attempt to jump out of a third-floor apartment window headfirst, records show. In another case, officers allegedly used a suspect as a human battering ram, thrusting his face through a wall because he refused to disclose information about a gun that officers were seeking, according to the documents. Many victims told investigators that officers beat them to retaliate for filing misconduct complaints, while others said the attacks were designed to menace gang members. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. http://cnn.com/2000/US/02/16/lapd.corruption/ ________________________________________________________________________________ no copyright 2000 rolux.org - no commercial use without permission. is a moderated mailing list for the advancement of minor criticism. more information: mail to: majordomo@rolux.org, subject line: , message body: info. further questions: mail to: rolux-owner@rolux.org. archive: http://www.rolux.org