Pubdate: Wed, 06 Feb 2002
Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Copyright: 2002, Denver Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
Author: Ron Word, Associated Press Writer

INFORMANT IN FAKE DRUG CASES DENIES WRONGDOING

One of the informants involved in the fake drug cases handled by the Dallas 
Police Department said he performed honest work for police.

The 44-year-old told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KDFW he was tired 
of being treated like a bad guy and is ready to talk to the FBI.

The FBI is investigating dozens of questionable narcotics purchases 
initiated by paid confidential informants.

The informant, who was not identified by the station, said he wanted to 
take a polygraph test to prove he didn't set up any innocent people in drug 
cases and did not steal any money from drug dealers or police.

The man, who was arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization 
Service as an illegal immigrant, said he had been fired by police. He also 
said he was shocked to find out the alleged drugs from his cases turned out 
to be gypsum.

The man has been connected to more than 20 drug cases. The police chief has 
said the man was the highest paid informant at $200,000. But the man said 
he received no more than $50,000.

He said police never asked him if he was an illegal immigrant.

Meanwhile Tuesday, prosecutors said it took them four months to get 
information from the Dallas Police Department after they questioned a large 
cocaine bust in September.

Prosecutors said they didn't realize the scope of the problem until 
mid-January.

"Until we got down to the point of putting together those 59 cases, we 
didn't have our arms around this," First Assistant District Attorney Mike 
Carnes told The Dallas Morning News in Wednesday's editions. "We were 
trying to put the pieces together to figure out what the puzzle was, but we 
still, in the month of January, were getting information."

In September, prosecutors said, a police detective was warned about a large 
cocaine bust that involved fake drugs. But it took another four months for 
police to hand over their files to help identify defendants who may have 
been wrongfully accused.

Prosecutors in late September said they were seeing the bad drug cases 
multiply but still didn't have the name of the primary informant.

Police spokeswoman Janice Houston declined comment Tuesday because of the 
FBI investigation.

Prosecutors have dismissed 59 cases that involved two undercover officers 
and four questionable confidential informants.
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