Pubdate: Thu, 13 Nov 2003
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2003 The Dallas Morning News
Contact:  http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: MATT STILES, and ROBERT THARP, The Dallas Morning News

GREED, PRESSURE LED TO FAKE-DRUG SCHEME

Informant Testifies At Trial Of Ex-Cop; Lawyer Calls Officer Scapegoat

The mastermind of a plan to arrest dozens of innocent people on false drug 
charges testified Wednesday that he was motivated by greed, as well as 
pressure by former Dallas police Detective Mark Delapaz, to make bigger and 
bigger drug busts.

Testifying on the opening day of Mr. Delapaz's federal civil rights trial, 
former confidential informant Enrique Alonso said Mr. Delapaz frequently 
told him and other informants that he wasn't satisfied with the amount of 
drugs they were helping the detective seize in arrests. "Sometimes we got 
25 [kilos] and he said he wanted more. ... One time he said he wanted 200 
kilos," he said.

WFAA-TV Mark Delapaz arrives at the federal courthouse on Wednesday.

In opening statements, defense attorney Paul Coggins described his client, 
a 13-year department veteran, as a "cop's cop" and the lone scapegoat of a 
scandal that embarrassed police commanders and the Dallas County district 
attorney's office. Many were "fooled" by the informants' scheme, but Mr. 
Delapaz is the only one being held accountable, he said. "When people 
thought the drugs were real, everybody rushed to take credit for it. ... 
When it's learned the drugs were fake, the blame rolls down to a lowly 
street cop," said Mr. Coggins, a former U.S. attorney. Mr. Alonso ­ a 
former drug dealer and user ­ said he hatched the plan to plant fake drugs 
that would lead to the arrest of innocent people because Mr. Delapaz told 
him he'd pay $1,000 for every kilo of drugs confiscated. He also said he 
realized that the detective was not searching him before the transactions 
or closely examining the seized substances. Mr. Alonso said repeatedly that 
Mr. Delapaz was not aware of the informants' scheme. But at the height of 
the scheme, in summer 2001, Mr. Alonso testified, he and Mr. Delapaz often 
talked daily by telephone and they sometimes joked with each other that the 
drugs were fake. "Sometimes he called me and said, 'It's not real, it's 
fake.' ... He said he's joking, Mr. Alonso testified, often switching 
between English and Spanish. On the stand Witnesses on the first day of the 
federal civil rights trial of former Dallas police Detective Mark Delapaz: 
Yvonne Gwyn, 53, of Dallas. Of the four people prosecutors say were falsely 
arrested on the word of Mr. Delapaz, Ms. Gwyn was the first to testify. Ms. 
Gwyn described her Sept. 7, 2001, arrest, telling jurors that an unknown 
man dropped off a 1984 blue Honda Civic for a tune-up and cleaning. Mr. 
Delapaz later told a judge that he saw her retrieve a package from the car. 
She denies that accusation.

Enrique Alonso, 46, the conspiracy's self-described mastermind, testified 
how he devised a scheme to plant fake drugs on innocent people. The motive: 
to make money for himself and other informants, aided by Mr. Delapaz's lax 
supervision, he said.

The trial resumes Thursday and is expected to last through Dec. 12.

To reach a guilty verdict, jurors do not have to consider whether Mr. 
Delapaz, 35, knew that the seized drugs were fake. He is accused of lying 
in reports and to a prosecutor about witnessing transactions in those cases 
that prosecutors say never occurred.

Prison time possible The victims' civil rights against unlawful arrest were 
violated because the detective's false statements created enough probable 
cause for judges to issue arrest warrants, prosecutors say. They also say 
that he lied about what he saw when questioned by the FBI. Mr. Delapaz 
faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Mr. Alonso, the department's highest-paid confidential informant in 2001, 
testified that the former detective could not have witnessed details 
outlined in his arrest reports because they never occurred. Among the 
incidents Mr. Alonso said never occurred: • In the June 2001 arrest of 
Roberto Amador, Mr. Delapaz wrote in his report that he witnessed Mr. 
Amador place an ice chest full of drugs inside an informant's car. Mr. 
Alonso told jurors that the ice chest was in the informant's car the whole 
time.

• In the September 2001 arrest of Yvonne Gwyn, Mr. Delapaz wrote in a 
report that he watched Ms. Gwyn go to a car parked outside her business and 
retrieve a bag. Mr. Alonso testified that he was with Mr. Delapaz and never 
saw Ms. Gwyn leave her business.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Blumberg, in his opening statement, 
described Mr. Delapaz as motivated by the glory of producing large drug 
arrests and seizures.

"The defendant was willing to lie and make up evidence in order to support 
a drug case," Mr. Blumberg said. "The defendant was willing to do it 
because he wanted to make bigger and bigger arrests."

Dressed in a black suit, Mr. Delapaz sat stoically and, at times, took 
notes during opening statements and testimony. His wife, Catherine, a 
Dallas police officer, and other supporters sat a row behind him in U.S. 
District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn's court.

Others jailed attend trial The charges stem from the so-called Sheetrock 
drug scandal. Drug evidence in at least two dozen cases from April to 
October 2001 turned out to be fake or to contain only traces of drugs. More 
than 80 cases were ultimately dismissed ­ including legitimate busts ­ 
because they were tainted by the involvement of Mr. Delapaz and his informants.

Three informants, including Mr. Alonso, pleaded guilty to civil rights 
violations and are cooperating with authorities as they await sentencing. 
Several of the falsely accused whose cases are not part of the trial 
attended the opening day. Jose Vega said he was curious to see Mr. 
Delapaz's face because the former undercover officer wore a mask during his 
arrest. 'I feel the same' Mr. Vega said that seeing the start of the trial 
more than two years after his arrest did not make him feel better. "I feel 
the same," he said. "I won't feel anything different until it's over."

Jacinto Jesus Mejia said he wondered why Mr. Delapaz was the only police 
officer charged with a crime. The officer's former partner, Officer Eddie 
Herrera, remains on paid leave while federal agents continue to investigate 
the cases. "There are others," Mr. Mejia said. "I don't think he was alone."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart