Ex-Deputy Taped Colleagues, Will Testify : Trial: Prosecutors say he will be a key witness in charges of money-skimming by elite drug unit.

A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, indicted for allegedly skimming drug money along with other members of an anti-narcotics team, secretly tape-recorded conversations with deputies and will testify as a key prosecution witness against them.

Virgil Bartlett, 49, has pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and tax evasion and has been cooperating for months with government investigators, according to court records and prosecutors.

The disclosure of Bartlett’s role marks the first time that any deputy aside from former Sheriff’s Sgt. Robert R. Sobel has been identified as assisting investigators in the corruption probe known as Operation Big Spender.

The investigation by federal and local officials already has led to the convictions of eight deputies--including Sobel--in a 1990 trial. A second criminal case against six other narcotics officers is to go to the jury this week.

In both cases, Sobel was the major prosecution witness against his former subordinates. And although the former sergeant is expected to appear in the next trial--scheduled to begin in March--prosecutors will rely heavily on the testimony of Bartlett and other former narcotics officers in that case and others.

“We have several people who are cooperating with this investigation, and Bartlett is among them,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Steven A. Bauer, who said Bartlett has worked with investigators for about a year.

According to court papers, Bartlett has surreptitiously taped telephone conversations with indicted deputies, worn a “body recorder” to one meeting with another deputy and taped other conversations with officers who have yet to be indicted but remain under investigation.

Bartlett’s cooperation was kept confidential for safety reasons, Bauer said, adding that “other cooperating witnesses in this investigation remain confidential.”

Bartlett refused comment and his attorney could not be reached.

But court records show that Bartlett, who retired October after 21 years with the Sheriff’s Department, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and another count of tax evasion. In exchange, four other counts against Bartlett were dropped and his sentencing was delayed until after his court testimony, expected to begin with an appearance at the upcoming trial of four former narcotics officers.

The defendants, who worked with Bartlett on an elite anti-narcotics team known as Majors II, are accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug money during raids in 1986 and 1987, laundering some of that stolen money and filing false income tax returns to cover up the alleged thefts.

On trial are Deputy Tyrone Powe, 39, an 11-year department veteran; Deputy Robert Juarez, 46, a 15-year veteran, and two ex-deputies--Eufrasio G. Cortez, 40, and Daniel M. Garner, 46--incarcerated after their 1990 convictions on other money-skimming charges.

In addition, Garner’s 43-year-old wife, Yhvona, was indicted on money-laundering and income tax charges.

All the defendants have maintained their innocence, and Cortez and Garner have appealed their convictions.

Several defense attorneys questioned Bartlett’s credibility and downplayed the importance of his tape recordings.

Terry Amdur, who represents Juarez, said that Sobel had described Bartlett as a “thief and liar” and that there was nothing incriminating in the half-dozen tapes of telephone conversations between Bartlett and his client. The calls consisted mostly of “small talk,” Amdur said.

Joel Levine, who represents Powe, said he had listened to the tapes of his client and found “nothing of any consequence.” But he contended that the government was guilty of misconduct for allowing the secret tapes to be made.

Levine maintained that the government had agreed not to contact Powe without his attorney present after informing him that he was a target of the investigation. Instead, Bartlett was told by prosecutors to wear a “body recorder” for a meeting last August with Powe--a month before any indictment. Bartlett later taped telephone conversations with the deputy.

“My position is that they were not allowed to contact my client at all,” said Levine, who is asking U.S. District Judge William J. Rea to suppress the tapes.

Prosecutors, in turn, said any pre-indictment tapes were part of a legitimate undercover operation and that Powe had made “damaging admissions” on the tape. Other tape recordings made after the indictment would not be used in this trial, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Bartlett made no secret tapes of either the Garners or Cortez.