Pubdate: Thu, 07 Jan 1999 Source: Wire: United Press International Copyright: 1999 United Press International EX-AGENT DISAPPEARS PROVIDENCE, R.I., (UPI) - Cesar A. Mareno, former informant/agent for the now disbanded R.I. Attorney General's Narcotics Strike Force, has turned up missing. Authorities say they fear he has fled the country rather than face prosecution for causing the arrest of several innocent people on trumped up drug charges. The 39-year-old Middletown, R.I., resident has been under indictment since October after he admitted that he knowingly violated the constitutional rights of at least seven Rhode Island residents by arresting them and falsely testifying in their trials. For several years, Moreno was the strike force's star informant. He was paid for his work and often joined agents on raids, instructing them to arrest certain suspects. Senior FBI resident agent Dan Knight says that his department feels Moreno may have returned to his homeland, Colombia, which has no extradition agreement with the United States. - --- MAP posted-by: Rich O'Grady