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