Pubdate: Tue, 21 May 2013
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Justin Berton

EX-VICE OFFICER GETS 14 YEARS

Cop Stole Drugs, Robbed Prostitutes - Judge Denies His House Arrest Bid

In 25 years as a cop, Norman Wielsch helped imprison thousands of 
drug dealers, thieves and gang-bangers.

It's unlikely, however, any of them were as audacious in their plea 
for leniency as Wielsch was Monday, when he asked a federal judge to 
bypass an act of Congress and sentence him to house arrest - instead 
of the mandatory minimum 10 years in prison for a cluster of felony 
convictions stemming from a string of robberies involving hookers and 
narcotics. It did him no good. The judge gave him 14 years in federal 
lockup and rebuked him for "pure greed."

Wielsch, the former commander of an elite antidrug task force in 
Contra Costa County, pleaded guilty in December to five counts of 
possessing and distributing marijuana and methamphetamine, theft of 
federal funds, civil rights conspiracy and robbery. Prosecutors said 
the corruption began in 2009 when the former vice cop teamed up with 
a private investigator to steal drugs from county evidence lockers, 
rob prostitutes and conduct the false arrest of a drug dealer.

Wielsch said in court in Oakland on Monday he has realized his 
criminal turn was the result of a severe and undiagnosed mental illness.

But U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong would have none of 
Wielsch's argument nor his novel attempt to avoid prison.

"I think it's critical the public have confidence in the criminal 
justice system," Armstrong said. "I'm convinced part of it was pure 
greed. I'm not at all convinced your mental condition drove this behavior."

At the hearing, Wielsch's composure cycled through fits of tears and 
attentive listening.

He rambled through an apology that referenced the heroism of officers 
at the Boston Marathon bombings, suicide rates among police officers, 
and a degenerative medical condition he said made it impossible for 
him to tie his shoes or button his pants.

In a separate written apology, Wielsch wrote, "I took the drugs. I 
helped sell them. I took money and property from prostitutes. I 
denied civil rights. For all of it I am sorry. ... I do not ask to be 
excused, but in my sorrow, I only ask and pray for fairness and for mercy."

Outside the courtroom, Wielsch's attorney Ray Erlach said it was 
unfair for the judge to consider Wielsch's former profession when 
sentencing him.

"In Norm's mind, he was unfairly singled out because he was a cop," 
Erlach said. "He was hoping for something other than straight up 
incarceration."

Wielsch's trail toward prison began in February 2009, prosecutors 
said, when he oversaw the illegal arrest of an ecstasy dealer in 
Danville with Christopher Butler, a former private investigator who 
was sentenced in September to eight years in prison.

Wielsch and Butler scripted the false arrest of the young man, from 
whom they stole thousands of Xanax and ecstasy pills during an 
illegal search of his bedroom.

Investigators also said Wielsch stole $30,000 worth of drugs from 
evidence lockers and passed them to Butler, who then sold them to 
former employees. The former commander also admitted to arranging 
dates with prostitutes at local hotels, flashing his badge as he 
entered the room, and robbing them of cash and cell phones.

At the sentencing, prosecutors said Wielsch contended he stole from 
the prostitutes - and shared the proceeds with Butler - because 
Butler had videotaped Wielsch's sexual encounter with two women and 
threatened to send the tape to Wielsch's wife.

Sara Zalkin, a defense attorney who said she represented clients who 
were falsely arrested by Wielsch, said the prison sentence was appropriate.

"As defense attorneys, we hear stories of corruption that people 
don't always take seriously," Zalkin said. "This has shown this is 
happening. He's not the first, and he won't be the last."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom