Pubdate: Thu, 07 Sep 2006 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 2006 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: http://www.suntimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81 Author: Frank Main And Carol Marin, Staff Reporters 4 COPS MAY HAVE RUINED 100 CASES Authorities are expected to arrest four Chicago Police officers today in a corruption investigation that could lead Cook County prosecutors to drop more than 100 criminal cases because they were tainted by the allegedly crooked cops. The officers are members of the department's elite Special Operations Section, a citywide unit that seizes guns and drugs in crime hot spots. All 4 have been sued At least four other officers, including a woman, have been stripped of their power to carry guns and make arrests, sources said. The officers are accused of raiding homes and stealing valuables -- sometimes from drug dealers and sometimes from ordinary citizens. The officers facing arrest today include the alleged ringleader, a 43-year-old man who won the Superintendent's Award for Valor, sources said. The others are men between ages 28 and 32. All four have been sued in federal court in cases alleging they conducted searches without warrants. The city has settled with the plaintiffs in most of those cases, which date to 2001, records show. The payouts have ranged from about $10,000 to about $50,000 per case. In some cases, the officers were accused of stealing cash, jewelry and framing people with crimes they did not commit. The Sun-Times is not identifying the officers because they have not yet been charged with crimes. Family's money stolen Sources said prosecutors in the Cook County state's attorney's office noticed last year that officers in the Special Operations Section were not showing up for court in cases involving large amounts of narcotics. Some of the officers gave reasons for why they were not showing up, such as being on medical leave, but investigators checked their excuses and they did not add up, sources said. The Sun-Times recently quoted defense attorney Joel Alan Whitehouse, a former Cook County prosecutor, as saying he approached the state's attorney's office after suspecting officers from the unit planted $100,000 of cocaine on his client, Jose Hermosillo. Prosecutors dropped the case against Hermosillo on Jan. 17. Whitehouse said he believes the Hermosillo case figured into the corruption investigation against the officers. Another man, Miguel Melesio, said he and his family were targeted by rogue officers from the unit, including the decorated officer and the female officer whose police powers recently were stripped. The officers allegedly stole about $13,000 in cash the family was saving in the home, the Melesio family has told WMAQ Channel 5's Unit 5. Alleged victims of the cops have been testifying before a grand jury, sources say. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek