DEA to probe fake-drug busts

Dallas police Tuesday asked the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Dallas County district attorney's office to join the department's investigation into a series of undercover drug busts that were later found to involve fake drugs.

Police Chief Terrell Bolton also announced at an evening news conference that two narcotics officers involved in the cases have been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation. Chief Bolton did not identify the officers.

District Attorney Bill Hill, who joined Chief Bolton at the news conference, said that the remaining pending cases involving fake drugs, minute traces, or no drugs would be dismissed. He estimated that at least 14 cases involving the officers would be dismissed.

Chief Bolton said new information in the last two weeks spurred the move to place the two investigators on leave and request outside assistance. He refused to discuss details of the investigations.

"It's everything in its totality. Everything that we've learned thus far had a part in the decision that was made today," he said. "We were at the point where we needed to separate issues ... once we start talking to these people, these people need to be available to you for the investigation."More than a dozen Dallas police narcotics arrests from 2001 have drawn criticism from defense attorneys for a pattern of undercover deals made on credit and seized evidence that tests later found to contain little or no illegal drugs.

The arrests have resulted in a public-integrity investigation begun by Dallas police on Nov. 30. Prosecution of at least 24 cases was suspended last week because the seized evidence contained only gypsum - or ground Sheetrock - or minute traces of illegal substances.

The case is being investigated by the Police Department's public-integrity unit, which handles criminal investigations involving any violation of the public trust. The department's internal affairs unit, which handles complaints against officers, is not involved in the investigation, officials have said.

Mr. Hill said that if the investigation reveals a breach of public trust by police officers, "those persons will be prosecuted."

A confidential informant who was paid more than $200,000 by the Police Department over two years, and who participated in many of the drug busts under investigation, is no longer working for the department, Chief Bolton said. The informant, who was involved in at least 70 cases, also has not been identified.

Information about problems with the cases came to light in mid-October, six weeks before the formal police investigation began. During that period, the confidential informant was given a polygraph exam, Chief Bolton said.

Court records also show that in at least four cases involving the fake drugs, more than $11,000 paid in drug buys by confidential informants is listed as "not recovered." Police reports in the four arrests state that police officers gave cash advances to confidential informants for sample buys. The four arrests were made by the same two undercover narcotics officers and their informants.

About the missing money, Chief Bolton said: "It's not the way it appeared to be. I can't talk any more about that. We're going to get to the bottom of every issue associated with this."

Chief Bolton said narcotics detectives are responsible for developing the best case they can and forwarding it to prosecutors. And if innocent people were arrested and jailed, it's the fault of the criminal justice system, he said.

"It's not our job to seek guilt or innocence," he said. "It's our job to look at the facts and forward them to the criminal justice system."

Dallas DEA officials said they learned late Tuesday that their agency's Office of Professional Responsibility had been asked to aid the investigation. The office investigates wrongdoing within the DEA and has offices in Dallas and across the country. DEA officials said it was rare for the DEA's internal affairs division to be asked to help a local police department's investigation.

Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Frank Seib said DEA internal affairs investigators will conduct an audit "on what was done wrong and what was done right." The DEA involvement will not likely be an investigation into criminal conduct but into how the officers carried out their busts, Agent Seib and other DEA officials said.

DEA auditors will have little authority to act beyond issuing a final confidential report to the police chief, he said.

"They'll come out with a finding that they'll give to the chief of police, and it's really up to the chief of police to do whatever he wants to do," Agent Seib said.

He said that revelations about missing money in the drug busts triggered the request for DEA involvement.

Phil Jordan, former special agent-in-charge of the Dallas DEA, praised Chief Bolton's decision, saying it was the best federal agency to assist in such an investigation.

"It'll be a fair and impartial investigation," Mr. Jordan said. "The DEA will be able to identify any violations in the police standard operating procedures as it relates to narcotics enforcement."

Mr. Jordan said that because the DEA is a "single-mission agency" and has the best standard operating procedures for narcotics investigations, "it doesn't have a political or hidden agenda. What the DEA recommends will be in the best interest of narcotics investigations in the Dallas metroplex."

Mr. Jordan also said that Dallas police narcotics officers have historically had the reputation of being among the best in the nation. For example, he said, Dallas police officers' work has led to indictments against major international heroin traffickers.

The fake drug cases "hurt, and again, based on what I've read, it appears we have a bad informant who has taken advantage of the system," Mr. Jordan said.

Defense attorney Cynthia Barbare, who represented two Mexican citizens charged in phony-drug cases, said she was glad the DEA is involved.

"This needed to happen a long time ago, when these cases started coming in as Sheetrock," Ms. Barbare said. "There should have been an investigation into the conduct of these officers and the informants when the DA's office first found out about them."

In some cases, defendants pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were then deported to Mexico. The chief said defense attorneys should not have allowed that to happen.

"It's important that they make sure that tests are done properly before they plea bargain on behalf of their clients," Chief Bolton said.

Bill Stovall, whose client pleaded guilty to lesser charges this fall and was then deported, said police should have been more diligent.

"You don't get the drugs tested until you're set for trial," Mr. Stovall said. "The prosecutors don't have enough money and the labs don't have the manpower to test every case that comes through."

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