Verdicts May Speed Probe of Narcotics Units

The conviction of six Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies on conspiracy charges in a money-skimming scandal is expected to accelerate a federal probe of corruption among the region’s narcotics investigators.

On the day after the convictions, prosecutors were back at work, pressing on with an investigation that sources said could bring additional federal grand jury indictments against more than a dozen other narcotics officers from both the Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Police Department.

One of those officers said Tuesday he now expects that prosecutors will increase the pressure on the convicted deputies to provide information against him and others in return for lighter sentences.

“They are going to come at these guys hard and heavy and see if they’re going to roll,” said Ed Jamison, a suspended deputy who along with other narcotics officers has been targeted by a grand jury investigation.

Jamison regularly attended the seven-week trial although he was absent when a federal court jury convicted six of his fellow deputies on 24 charges including conspiracy, theft, tax evasion, money laundering and racketeering for skimming money during drug raids.

Jurors failed to reach a verdict on a conspiracy charge against a seventh deputy, but convicted him of evading bank reporting requirements as part of a money-laundering scheme.

The deputies face prison terms ranging from five years to a maximum of 53 years.

The verdicts were the first in a corruption case that has led to the suspension of more than two dozen deputies and prompted an internal probe of several Police Department narcotics officers. Two additional trials related to the money-skimming investigation are scheduled to begin early next year.

The massive money-skimming investigation, which began more than two years ago, has involved scores of sheriff’s investigators and agents from the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service, some of whom had been brought into the city from around the nation to help on the corruption case.

The initial probe centered on members of several Sheriff’s Department squads that investigated major narcotics cases. The four teams were later disbanded. But now federal grand jurors are also focusing attention on a special anti-drug task force composed of deputies and Police Department officers that targeted mid-level drug dealers in Southwest Los Angeles.

The crew members have been accused of beating drug suspects, stealing money during narcotics raids and planting cocaine on suspects, allegations that surfaced during the deputies’ trial when the prosecution’s chief witness--former Sheriff’s Sgt. Robert R. Sobel--testified against his former subordinates.

Already, attorneys representing suspected drug dealers have been notified of the allegations, and some dealers have been shepherded into interview rooms and questioned about the activities of the officers who detained them.

“I can certainly confirm that there are investigations but that’s as far as I can go,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Michael Emmick, who is overseeing the grand jury probe.

Emmick refused to comment when asked if the convictions would hasten the timing of any indictment or help any future prosecutions.

But Jamison, who as a member of the Southwest crew has professed his innocence, said that he and other deputies have been bracing for the indictments and would not be surprised if they are returned now that the first trial is over.

“We’re tired of getting threatened,” he said. “If they’re going to do it, then let them do it.”

While the Sheriff’s Department has suspended a total of 26 deputies--including the six convicted this week--the Police Department has not removed any of its officers who are under investigation. A Police Department official, however, acknowledged that an internal affairs investigation continues into those officers.

“We have investigations . . . that overlap from the deputies’ case that will require curative actions,” said Cmdr. William Booth, “but what those curative actions are you don’t announce until the end of the investigation.”

Booth, who said the probes are nearing an end, would not identify how many narcotics officers were involved.

In addition to the investigation of the Southwest crew, prosecutors are still seeking key witnesses to buttress the cases against members of other anti-drug teams including deputies, such as Sobel, who are willing to testify against their former colleagues.

“As you’ve seen from the trial, it’s essential to have an inside witness,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Jeffrey C. Eglash, who helped successfully prosecute the deputies, “so it’s no secret that if you are talking about other (narcotics) crews there is a need for corroboration.”

Still, attorneys and law enforcement officers are not the only ones sifting through the aftermath of the deputies’ trial.

Supervisor Pete Schabarum on Tuesday asked his fellow board members whether law enforcement officers should be allowed to keep some of the money or property seized during drug busts.

The lame-duck supervisor said he was not condoning the behavior of the six deputies but said he had “mixed emotions” about the verdict.

“Given the fact the law is the law, they were tried and convicted,” Schabarum said. “On the other hand, I am one who comes from the free enterprise (school of thinking) and wonder what is wrong with providing some portion of the proceeds of a drug bust to the finders.”

During the meeting, Schabarum asked County Counsel DeWitt Clinton to research the issue, but his proposal drew immediate fire from his fellow supervisors.

“You would be setting up a vigilante action,” Supervisor Ed Edelman told Schabarum. “ . . . You would be leading to further temptation and causing law enforcement to go after those areas where they can get the most money for themselves.”

Times staff writer Richard Simon contributed to this story.