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Ex-Informant Lied, Indictment Says
Pubdate: Fri, 08 Feb 2002
Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)
Copyright: 2002, Denver Publishing Co.
Contact: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
EX-INFORMANT LIED, INDICTMENT SAYS
A judge has ordered the key confidential informant in the fake drug cases
handled by the Dallas Police Department held on charges of lying about
being a U.S. citizen.
Enrique Martinez Alonso, 44, appeared in federal court in Dallas after
being indicted on two felony counts of misrepresenting himself as a U.S.
citizen while applying for a Social Security card.
Alonso was a paid police informant in a series of major drug seizures in
which, lab tests later showed, the evidence contained finely ground gypsum,
flour or only trace amounts of illicit substances.
The FBI recently began a public-corruption and civil-rights investigation
into the fake-drug scandal.
The Dallas County district attorney's office is seeking to dismiss more
than 70 cases involving Alonso or two suspended Dallas narcotics officers.
Another case _ that of Mexican citizen Hugo Rosas _ was dismissed Thursday.
But Rosas remained jailed on an immigration hold.
Also Thursday, a former confidential informant of a third undercover Dallas
narcotics officer accused that officer of encouraging him to lie to help
obtain probable cause for raids on suspected drug houses.
The officer denied the allegations.
The ex-informant's lawyer said she contacted federal authorities this week
about the allegations and is awaiting word on when the man can talk to the FBI.
The former informant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Dallas
Morning News for its Friday editions he signed a contract to work as the
officer's snitch and make seven cases against other suspected drug dealers
so that he could get probation rather than prison time.
The 34-year-old man, who has felony convictions for theft and drug
possession, said he helped police make several cases but recently ended his
work after lab tests in his case revealed fake drugs.
"I come out of the house and I said, 'No, there's no dope in there,'" the
ex-informant said. "He kind of got upset. He goes, 'No, that's the wrong
answer. Read between the lines.' And ... I said, 'OK, there is dope in
there,' and he goes, 'That's better.' ... He never told me plain-out lie;
he just said read between the lines."
The officer, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that never
happened.
In Alonso's initial appearance and detention hearing Thursday before U.S.
Magistrate Judge Jeff Kaplan, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rose Romero argued
that Alonso should not be released into the custody of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service because of the new charges.
She said the INS would be forced to deport Alonso to Mexico for
immigration-law violations. Once there, Alonso probably would disappear or
ignore requests to cooperate with the investigation, she said.
Alonso recently has been evasive when authorities sought to question him,
she said.
Defense attorney John W. Key III said Alonso has cooperated with
authorities and would do so again. He asked Judge Kaplan to consider
freeing his client with electronic monitoring.
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