Pubdate: Fri, 17 May 2002
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2002 The Dallas Morning News
Contact:  http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: Todd Bensman

INFORMANTS INVOLVED IN BUSTS MAY TAKE PLEA DEALS

Two Dallas police confidential informants involved in dozens of 
questionable drug busts are prepared to cooperate with investigators while 
negotiating plea bargains, according to court records.

Enrique Martinez Alonso and Jose Guadalupe Ruiz-Serrano, who have been held 
on unrelated immigration violation charges since early this year, are at 
the center of an FBI investigation into how dozens of people were arrested 
and charged with drug trafficking based on evidence that was later 
determined to be gypsum.

A third police informant, Reyes Roberto Rodriguez, also faces immigration 
charges. All three of the men are Mexican citizens and in the country 
illegally, authorities have said.

Background Coverage of the ongoing investigation from The Dallas Morning 
News and WFAA.

Federal authorities have declined to say if any of the three are telling 
authorities how the drug busts were carried out. An attorney for Mr. 
Rodriguez said last month that his client was cooperating.

According to a government motion to delay Mr. Alonso's trial until Monday, 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rose Romero cited the fact that he was "negotiating 
a plea agreement which may include the defendant's cooperation in a complex 
civil rights investigation." The motion was granted.

Mr. Alonso's attorney, Arch McColl, did not return phone calls this week.

Mr. Alonso was paid more than $200,000 for his help in making what were 
described as some of the largest drug busts by the department.

A separate motion filed by Mr. Ruiz's attorney, seeking to delay trial for 
an unspecified period of time, said: "The defendant is anticipating a plea 
bargain."

Previously, attorney William Nellis has said his client did nothing wrong 
in connection with the faulty drug busts and had little to offer 
investigators. Mr. Nellis said two weeks ago that Mr. Ruiz had not spoken 
further with FBI agents and did not wish to.

Mr. Nellis said in the motion that government prosecutors suggested he 
request the delay "due to a newly developed investigation that the 
defendant may be involved in." Mr. Nellis did not return calls this week.

All of the motions were filed earlier this month but did not appear in the 
public record until this week. The U.S. attorney's office in Dallas, under 
direction from the U.S. Department of Justice, recused its prosecutors this 
week from the case. Federal authorities have declined to cite a reason.

The criminal section of the Justice Department's civil rights division is 
to take over for the local office on all matters related to the FBI 
investigation.
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