Suspended Officer, 5 Others Charged in Bribe Conspiracy

A suspended Los Angeles police officer and a retired officer were charged with conspiracy along with four other defendants Tuesday for allegedly taking bribes to remove driving records from court files.

Edward Romero, 44, a Los Angeles traffic liaison officer, was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to obstruct justice, as well as removal of public records.

Romero, a 20-year veteran of the force, was arrested last month in his office in the Municipal Court Traffic Division downtown. He was observed on videotape removing the records of a case from the city attorney’s files, officials alleged.

A videotape camera had been secretly installed by police bunco-forgery investigators in a city attorney’s office at the Traffic Courts Building where Romero worked.

When he was arrested, Romero had in his possession illegally obtained arrest reports, notes and copies of court documents for three drunk-driving cases, Police Chief Daryl F. Gates said at the time.

Prosecutors said that from at least last August until January, Romero and the others charged were involved in a scheme allowing people arrested in the downtown Los Angeles area for drunk driving to avoid prosecution by paying “fees” to the defendants.

Retired Los Angeles Police Officer Armando Antonio Perez was also charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

The same charges were filed against Porfirio Arellano, 48, of Los Angeles; Teresa Munguia, 30, Monterey Park, and Quirino Martinez, 71, Los Angeles.

In addition to the conspiracy charges, Louie Abundis, 32, of La Puente was charged with solicitation of bribery for allegedly paying $3,200 to have two of his drunk-driving cases taken from police files. Another person allegedly paid Abundis $2,200 to have drunk-driving case files removed.