Pubdate: Tue, 22 Oct 2002 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2002 San Jose Mercury News Contact: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390 CIVIL SERVANTS ACCUSED OF HELPING DRUG LORDS Mexican officials said Monday they had arrested 25 people who infiltrated the army, the federal police and the attorney general's office on behalf of some of the nation's most powerful drug kingpins. The arrests were the first such case under President Vicente Fox. They suggest that despite the recent jailing of leading figures from every one of the nation's major drug gangs, the cartels retain the money and the power to corrupt Mexico's government. The attorney general, Rafael Macedo de la Concha, said "corrupt public servants" were at the heart of a network that had been stealing secrets from the government and selling them to the drug cartels since 1996. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth