LAPD CHIEF: CORRUPT OFFICER TAINTED 57 CASES

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A corrupt police officer tainted 57 prosecutions
involving 99 people, police Chief Bernard Parks said Wednesday, the latest
revelation in a case that already has led to 22 overturned convictions.

Investigators have interviewed 52 of those defendants, and all should have
their convictions voided, Parks said at a news conference. Only three of
the 99 are in custody.

"We currently in the department no longer have faith in these prosecutions
and have gone forward and requested the district attorney to resolve these
issues as soon as possible," Parks said.

Twenty officers have resigned or been suspended since Rafael Perez, an
anti-gang officer accused of stealing cocaine from a police evidence
locker, began co-operating with police in exchange for a lighter sentence.

During several months of interviews, Perez identified 57 cases in which he
fabricated evidence or his perjured testimony resulted in a conviction,
Parks said.

Parks' announcement appeared to include all the tainted cases related to
Perez.

Parks also said that he has asked the district attorney to prosecute three
officers.

As of Tuesday, 22 convictions had been overturned and District Attorney Gil
Garcetti estimated his office would seek reversals of 24 to 36 other cases.

Prosecutors believe the tainted cases will number in the hundreds, said
Victoria Pipkin, a spokeswoman for Garcetti.