Pubdate: Thu, 20 Dec 2001
Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Copyright: 2001, Denver Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption)

FEDERAL AND LOCAL DRUG, ROBBERY INVESTIGATIONS FOCUS ON TWO LAPD OFFICERS

Two police officers are being investigated for allegedly committing a 
series of armed robberies, stealing narcotics and money from drug 
dealers.

Authorities believe Officer Ruben Palomares, who was arrested in June 
in San Diego for the crimes, was partners with fellow Officer William 
Ferguson. Investigators liken the alleged crime duo's activities to 
those of Rafael Perez and Nino Durden, the former LAPD officers whose 
arrests launched the Rampart scandal.

Anonymous law enforcement sources have told the Los Angeles Times 
that other officers, both from within the LAPD and outside agencies, 
are also being investigated, but they declined to provide details.

Both Palomares, 32, and Ferguson, 29, have been suspended without 
pay. Their attorneys have denied the allegations against their 
clients. To date, neither man has been charged with the alleged 
rip-offs.

"I think they're out there pounding the pavement, chasing ghosts," 
said Ferguson's attorney Robert Rico. Palomares' attorney declined 
comment.

The investigation was launched in June after Palomares was arrested 
in San Diego for allegedly trying to buy 10 kilograms of cocaine from 
undercover agents.

One of the men arrested in that sting, Alvin Moon, 26, confessed to 
investigators he accompanied Palomares on other crimes, including the 
attempted robbery of a drug dealer and a Huntington Park murder, the 
Times said.

Moon picked Ferguson out of a lineup and told police Ferguson helped 
Palomares steal from drug dealers.

Palomares is currently in custody in San Diego awaiting trial. 
Ferguson was relieved of duty without pay more than a year ago 
pending an internal disciplinary investigation into unrelated 
misconduct charges.

Police Commission President Rick Caruso said the allegations against 
the pair "angered and troubled" him.

"The investigation is going to take us wherever it needs to take us. 
My biggest concern right now is to make sure (LAPD detectives) have 
all the resources they need to fully investigate this and get to the 
bottom of it," Caruso said.

Earlier this month, Moon pleaded guilty in federal court in 
connection with the San Diego cocaine deal. His attorney, Jeremy 
Warren, declined comment on whether Moon is cooperating with 
authorities.

Palomares also is the subject of a separate FBI investigation, which 
is examining his role in the 1998 shooting of an alleged drug dealer.

Former Officer Rafael Perez, the key figure in the LAPD's Rampart 
scandal, told investigators that the shooting was unjustified and 
covered up. Perez told of alleged corruption in the Rampart station 
as part of a plea agreement to reduce his sentence for stealing 
cocaine from police evidence lockers.
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