ARRESTS OF HOLLYWOOD OFFICERS JEOPARDIZE 61 CRIMINAL CASES THEY HANDLED

A former state legislator charged with having sex with a teenager, a
man accused in the rape of a 60-year-old woman, and a man who police
said molested his 13-year-old stepdaughter are among defendants in 61
pending cases jeopardized by alleged corruption in the Hollywood
police department.

The prosecutions, each involving one of four veteran officers charged
last week with corruption and drug offenses, are under review by
lawyers in the Broward State Attorney's Office, said felony chief Jeff Marcus.

At the same time, the FBI continued to look into leaks from the
Hollywood Police Department that prematurely exposed an undercover
investigation of suspected dirty cops. The leaks forced agents to
wrap up the sting instead of following up on other leads that could
have produced more arrests, according to a federal law enforcement
official familiar with the matter.

Detective Kevin Companion, 41; Sgt. Jeffry Courtney, 51; Officer
Stephen Harrison, 46; and Detective Thomas Simcox, 50, are accused of
providing services to FBI agents posing as mobsters in exchange for
cash, sometimes using official police vehicles and equipment.

Companion, Courtney and Harrix son were arrested Thursday and
released on bail. Simcox, who was cooperating with investigators, is
expected to surrender Wednesday.

Howard Finkelstein, chief public defender for Broward County, said
the scandal's effect on pending criminal cases could be "huge."

"This is as serious as it gets," Finkelstein said. "Cases could very
easily fall apart."

He said he would advise his staff to take a close look at current and
past cases involving all Hollywood police officers, not just the four
charged. "I want to find out about every dirty cop in the city of
Hollywood," Finkelstein said.

The four officers were involved in pending felony cases that include
child sexual abuse, vehicular homicide, kidnapping and drug charges.
Companion and Simcox, who ran the sex-crimes unit for the Hollywood
police, handled 45 cases, Marcus said.

"We're going through case-by-case to determine what impact there is," he said.

Perhaps the highest-profile prosecution called into question involves
a former state legislator who police say admitted paying for sex with
a Hollywood madam and an underage girl.

Barry Kutun, 65, surrendered last year after Hollywood police charged
him with two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. He was
subsequently fired from his post as North Miami's city attorney.

Kutun's attorney Richard Sharpstein said Simcox was the original lead
detective in the Hollywood case, adding it was too early to tell how
his involvement would impact Kutun's defense.

Simcox also participated in a case where a good Samaritan chased down
a man accused of raping a 60-year-old woman in a Hollywood alley on
New Year's Day.

Simcox arrested Juan Moreno, 38, whom the woman identified in front
of police, on one count of sexual battery with a weapon, records
show. The woman suffered serious injuries, including a deep cut on
her neck after her attacker allegedly used a belt to try to strangle her.

Assistant Public Defender Jose Alberto Reyes, who represents Moreno,
could not be reached for comment Monday. In the case of the man
charged with repeatedly molesting his teenage stepdaughter, it was
Companion who took the girl's statement at her Hollywood home in December.

The suspect's attorney, Alex Rivero, said that makes him "raise an eyebrow."

"It's definitely something I have to look into," Rivero said Monday.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel is not publishing his client's name to
protect the stepdaughter's privacy.

Alberto Milian, a former Broward state prosecutor, said the officers'
arrests would undoubtedly cause headaches for his former office.

"It's going to raise credibility issues every time a police officer,
especially a Hollywood police officer, testifies," he said. Dennis
Siegel, head of the sex crimes unit of the Broward State Attorney's
Office, said lawyers would look for ways to make their cases without
relying on testimony from the accused officers.

Hollywood Police Chief James Scarberry said Monday he assigned a
detective to the sex crimes unit to review all open cases handled by
Simcox and Companion.

The undercover inquiry was forced to shut down early after word of
the operation got back to some officers, Scarberry said.

He said other officers named on the FBI's surveillance tapes remain
under suspicion.

"Whether that may have been bragging by the four officers, I don't
know," he said. "We'll have to sit down with the FBI and see what
evidence there may be."

As for how word of the investigation leaked, Scarberry said he has "a hunch."

According to the federal law enforcement official, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity, Scarberry and his top deputy were briefed on
the investigation about a month ago, around the time federal
authorities confronted Simcox and asked him to cooperate. Scarberry
and his deputy were told not to discuss the matter with anyone else.

Scarberry said he informed Mayor Mara Guilianti, City Manager Cameron
Benson and members of his senior command staff because he thought
arrests were imminent.

Weeks later, after learning Courtney and Companion were acting
suspiciously and demanding their pensions, Scarberry said he alerted
federal authorities that their investigation was blown.

There is currently no formal investigation of the leak, the federal
official said, adding the FBI could launch a criminal inquiry if it
seemed to be intentional.

Staff Writers John Holland, Robert Nolin, Paula McMahon and Hemmy So
contributed to this report.