Buzzby

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A former police officer serving 15 years in prison on drug trafficking and weapon charges, has admitted that he and other officers were behind a robbery spree that netted hundreds of thousands of dollars between 1998 and 2001.

Ruben Palomares, 34, and his colleagues collected drugs, cash, guns and other items in robberies that sometimes turned brutally violent, according to a plea agreement and other documents, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

The robberies were often staged to look like law enforcement raids, and in one instance, the robbers even identified themselves as cops as they stole television sets from the back of semi truck on a street in Montebello, the documents show.

According to the documents filed Tuesday, the ex-Rampart Division officer agreed to plead guilty to a potential life sentence in connection with the robberies and agreed to cooperate with authorities.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien, the lead prosecutor on the case, declined comment.

Winston Kevin McKesson, Palomares' lawyer, said his client has become a born-again Christian after his arrest and is trying to make amends for his misdeeds.

"He's decided to step forward and try to see that justice is done," said McKesson, who also represented Rafael Perez, the LAPD officer who launched the Rampart division corruption investigation in 1999. "He's trying to get right with God."

The charges are the result of an ongoing federal investigation that began when Palomares was caught buying 10 kilograms of cocaine from undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agents in San Diego in 2001.

Palomares and his cohorts dressed in police uniforms, drove, police cars and flashed their badges during many of the robberies, according to the documents.

During the spree, at least two men were shot with stun guns, while another man was beaten with a police baton, had a gun shoved in his mouth and was burned with a lighter, the Times reported.

The group sold the more than 700 pounds of Marijuana, 50 kilos of cocaine, and an assortment of firearms and jewelry that it collected, the court papers state.

The officers used surveillance teams to watch for police or witnesses and would often handcuff their victims.

Under his plea deal, Palomares can only earn a reduction in his sentence if the prosecution finds that he has been truthful and has provided "substantial assistance" to their investigation.

Prosecutors have already been able to corroborate much of his allegations through outside sources, the Times reported.

The robbery crew was made up of about 20 members, including family and friends of Palomares.

Among them were five officers on active-duty at the time of the spree. Two were members of the Los Angeles Police Department, one of whom was later fired for unrelated misconduct and another who resigned. Two more were Long Beach officers assigned to desk duties pending the outcome of the federal investigation.

The fifth was a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who now works as a prison guard at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi.

Palomares, who joined the LAPD in 1993, was a former Golden Gloves boxer who sparred with such fighters as Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley.

He was among a number of officers identified by Rafael Perez in 1999, but Palomares was never criminally charged in the Rampart scandal and the majority of his criminal activity took place while he was under investigation, according to court documents.

Palomares pleaded guilty to the San Diego drug charges last year. The investigation into the robbery ring remains ongoing.

At his sentencing, Palomares said he regretted his crime. He said he started committing robberies to provide for his five young children after alcohol and pain pill addictions forced him go on disability at the LAPD.

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CHICAGO (AP) -- Two customs and border protection officers and 16 others were charged in a federal complaint unsealed Tuesday with being part of a drug ring that smuggled millions of dollars in heroin, cocaine and Marijuana from Mexico to American cities.

Nine of those charged, including customs officers at Midway Airport, were swept up Monday night and Tuesday.

Four others were taken into custody in California and Colorado as part of Operation Money Clip, federal officials said. Five are fugitives.

"We've successfully plugged a significant pipeline of drugs to Chicago and halted the flow of cash back to the suppliers," said Richard W. Sanders, special agent in charge of the Chicago office of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Federal officials said the investigation began with a 2003 traffic stop in Texas when lawmen seized $2.2 million and led to wiretaps in Los Angeles and Chicago. The investigation into drug smuggling and money laundering that followed in several states has resulted in 83 arrests, according to the DEA.

Customs and border protection officers Jaime Garcia, 27, and Alma O. Teran, 28, both from Chicago and named in the complaint unsealed Tuesday, were arrested at the airport, officials said.

Officials said the two officers used law enforcement databases to determine if agents were investigating members of the organization, including themselves. They face 10 years to life in prison if convicted.

Salvador Mendoza, 32, of Bloomington, Calif., was accused of being the head of the drug ring's Los Angeles cell.

According to the DEA, Mendoza was allegedly involved in the distribution of 150 kilograms of cocaine, 5,000 pounds of Marijuana and 10 pounds of crystal methamphetamine per month, and allegedly laundered the proceeds through real estate transactions and a used car business.

Jose Urena, 28, and Lino Iniguez, 37, were accused of being the leaders of the Chicago cell. Officials said drugs also were sold in New York and Milwaukee.

Others charged in the complaint Tuesday are from Mexico, Chicago and its suburbs, Aspen and Snowmass, Colo., and Riverside and Rialto, Calif.

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PotShot

No, he's not trying to get right with god, he's a pile of **** in human form trying to save it's own skin. But nice try. *shrug*

Destroy the black market! Legalize drugs!

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Carl Sagan Goodness Richard Dawkins Goodness

smoking_joe_lee

As soon as Palomares' fellow inmates find out he is former LAPD and a current snitch ratting out his associates, they may arrange a "reduction in his sentence!" It's not a good idea to be a cop in prison. As Robert Blake would say, "don't do the crime if you can't do the time." Maybe that was not the best person to quote...
I'm smoking joe and I approved this message! Wow, that was original! Think I'll run for office...