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Pubdate: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Section: National Author: Ross E. Milloy FAKE DRUGS FORCE AN END TO 24 CASES IN DALLAS DALLAS, Jan. 15 -- Nearly half of the cocaine and nearly a quarter of the methamphetamine that the Dallas police seized last year have turned out to be gypsum from wallboard, a discovery that has led to the suspension of two dozen criminal cases, local officials say. All the cases involve a single unidentified informer who has received at least $200,000 from the Dallas Police Department over the last two years, officials confirmed last week. The supposed drugs tested positive in field tests after the arrests, they said, but more sophisticated testing done later in preparation for trial found no more than traces of drugs. The Dallas Morning News, which disclosed the situation, reported this morning that in at least four cases suspects had little money on them when they were arrested. The Dallas police and the district attorney's office have opened investigations to determine exactly what happened. Among their questions are these: Did the informer fake the drug purchases to obtain money from the police? Was there tampering with the evidence, either by the informer or the police? Was there a problem with the testing process used at the time of the arrests? Two lawyers involved in the matter said the Federal Bureau of Investigation had made inquiries about the case, but Lori Bailey, a spokeswoman for the agency, said no formal investigation had yet begun. "It's just a real touchy situation right now," Ms. Bailey said. "The Dallas Police Department has started its own investigation, and we're currently accepting information and looking into the possibility that there may be violations that would fall under our investigative jurisdiction. At this time, we do not have a formal investigation under way." Janice Houston, a spokeswoman for the police department, said today that at least 70 drug purchases associated with the unnamed informer over the past two years would be reviewed. But Ms. Houston would not comment on the possibility that the evidence in question might have been tampered with while under police custody. "We have an investigation under way," she said, "and it's just too early to speculate on where the problem might be." Brady Wyatt, a Dallas lawyer representing a person accused of drug dealing whose case has been dismissed, said he doubted that the police had acted criminally. "It sounds to me like they've got a bad informant," Mr. Wyatt said. District Attorney Bill Hill of Dallas County refused to discuss the case today, and his spokesman referred a reporter to a statement last week in which Mr. Hill acknowledged problems with evidence in the disputed cases and said he would review arrests involving the informer. Investigators have found more than 660 pounds of fake cocaine and at least 22 pounds of fake methamphetamine. Some of those arrested have already spent up to six months in jail and at least four have been deported on charges that could have resulted in sentences from five years to life in prison. All 18 people named in the two dozen suspended prosecutions have Hispanic surnames, prompting accusations of racial profiling from the Mexican Consulate here and Hispanic organizations. At least three of the people were arrested under similar circumstances, said Bill Stovall, a former Dallas County district attorney who represents some of the men. While waiting to be hired at an informal gathering spot for day laborers, Mr. Stovall said, the men were approached by strangers asking if they knew how to drive. The men were then taken to a second car and led to a nearby convenience store to wait for a man who they were told would give them painting supplies. That person, thought to be the informer, then put a black bag in the car's trunk and, while following him to another place, the men were stopped and arrested, Mr. Stovall said. Lawyers involved in the cases said the defendants were mainly poor, illegal Mexican immigrants. "They are picking on the poorest of the poor, people just struggling to make a buck to survive," Mr. Wyatt said. Last year, a new state law reined in the use of unsupervised informers in drug prosecutions after a case in which 12 percent of the black population of Tulia, Tex., was arrested, mainly on the word of an undercover agent. Since last September, informers' testimony must be corroborated by a police officer. But enforcement of that law by the courts is spotty, said Richard Carrizales, another Dallas defense lawyer. "There's a big problem here with the way the police are conducting oversight of their informants," Mr. Carrizales said, "and it's getting bigger. The informants are leading the narcotics officers around by the nose, setting up people to be busted, so that they can collect bonuses for the number of arrests they get." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom