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POLICE OFFICER ADMITS ROLE IN DRUG TRAFFICKING

SAN ANTONIO -- A former police officer who was among the 10 law-
enforcement officers arrested in a federal drug sting has admitted to
plotting to protect a cocaine delivery.

Manuel Cedillo Jr. pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edward C.
Prado to charges of conspiring to distribute and possess cocaine.

Cedillo's plea deal on Tuesday capped his prison sentence at five years and
10 months.

It is the fourth plea agreement in the FBI sting that ended March 22 with
the arrest of eight San Antonio police officers, two Bexar County
law-enforcement officers and two civilians.

As part of the plea bargain, the prosecution could call Cedillo to testify
against other defendants.

According to court documents, Cedillo admitted that he accompanied another
police officer to a hotel to meet a man known as "Ricardo," who actually
was an undercover agent posing as a midlevel cocaine trafficker.

On Dec. 20, Cedillo served as a lookout in the hotel parking lot and was
paid $2,000 for his services.

Cedillo, 12-year veteran, resigned from the police force after his arrest.

In a related proceeding, Prado rescheduled the trial for most of the
remaining defendants to Oct. 22.