Judge unseals guilty pleas in case involving local prosecutor

-- Noaki Schwartz

A U.S. District Court judge on Monday unsealed some minor court papers

in a high-profile criminal drug case against eight people, including a

former prosecutor who handled gang cases in Costa Mesa.

Bryan Kazarian, a former Orange County deputy district attorney, was

among the eight people who pleaded guilty to the charges in a federal

drug smuggling and money laundering case.

The documents unsealed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana show that

the defendants changed their pleas from not guilty to guilty, said Jim

Spertus, an assistant U.S. attorney. However, the terms of the plea

agreement are still sealed.

Kazarian, 35, was accused last year of leaking confidential

information about an open investigation to 28-year-old John Ward. Ward

was the alleged ringleader of a coast-to-coast drug smuggling operation.

Kazarian allegedly provided details about a purported member of Ward’s

ring who was suspected of moving 106 pounds of chemicals used to

manufacture methamphetamine.

The ring was reportedly headquartered in Orange County and New Jersey

with cocaine, methamphetamine and prescription drugs shipped to various

points across the U.S.