NOT GUILTY VERDICT IN FAKE DRUGS CASE

Former Dallas police detective Mark Delapaz was found not guilty Tuesday on
all six counts in his federal criminal trial related to the city's
fake-drug scandal.

The detective, fired from the Dallas Police Department after his indictment
in April, had been charged with falsifying reports and lying to prosecutors
and the FBI in connection with the arrests of innocent people on drug
charges. The seized drug evidence turned out to be billiards chalk.

Mr. Delapaz declined to comment about the verdict, his feelings or his
future. His only words were to thank his defense attorneys and his family
for their support.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment and
referred questions to the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

Defense attorney Paul Coggins said Mr. Delapaz deserved to reinstated as a
Dallas police officer.

"He did his job well. It was the only job he ever had, the only job he ever
loved."

The verdict surprised immigrant rights' groups and angered some of the
people who were wrongfully arrested.

"Once again, they played us for fools. He [Mr. Delapaz] was found innocent,
even if he is really guilty, because he was a policeman. They step on us
because we are Mexicans," said Erubiel Cruz, an immigrant who spent three
months in jail on a charge of cocaine possession and distribution based on
the word of the informants in the fake-drugs case. The charge was later
dismissed.

"How can this be the result of all the FBI investigations? How can [the
jurors] believe that two informants were able to fool the authorities
without the help of that guy [Mr. Delapaz]?" Mr. Cruz said.

Mr. Coggins had presented only one witness in his client's defense during
the seven-day trial. He told the jury that there was no need for more
because prosecutors had failed to prove conclusively that Mr. Delapaz lied
in police reports.

"This is a good man and an honest cop," Mr. Coggins said of Mr. Delapaz.
"Everything that happened in this trial let me know even more forcefully
that this is a good man and an honest cop."

The bulk of the trial consisted of the prosecution's case, in which they
detailed the wrongful arrests of four victims. The crooked confidential
informants who created the elaborate scheme to plant fake evidence on
innocent people to earn money from police also testified for prosecutors.

As the verdict was read on each count, Mr. Delapaz placed his hands
together in what looked like prayer. After six not-guilty verdicts, his
wife, Catherine Delapaz gasped and hugged him.

A ride down the elevator from the 15th floor courtroom of the Earle Cabell
federal building was filled with sighs of relief from the defense team and
relatives for Mr. Delapaz.

About two dozen narcotics arrests between April and October 2001 involved
fake drugs or had only traces of real drugs. Prosecutors eventually
dismissed more than 80 narcotics cases because they were tainted by the
involvement of Mr. Delapaz and the informants.

Three informants have pleaded guilty to civil rights violations and are
cooperating with authorities while they await sentencing.

Mr. Delapaz is the only official charged so far in the scandal. His partner
at the department, Officer Eddie Herrera, remains on paid leave. Saul
Herrera, president of Casa Zacatecas, a Dallas group made up of Mexican
immigrants, said he was upset by the verdict.

"This is an insult to those who are Mexican and those who are poor. Because
he [was] a police officer, they do not hold him accountable," Mr. Herrera said.

Patricia Belmar, one of the consuls for the Mexican Consulate General in
Dallas, said her goverment does not agree with the verdict.

She said Mexican officials would approach the FBI in the coming days to
request an explanation of what went wrong with the case. The consulate has
followed the fake-drugs scandal closely and cooperated with U.S.
authorities because several of those jailed with tainted evidence are
Mexican citizens.

Ms. Belmar said she was puzzled why prosecutors did not put more of the
informants' victims on the witness stand.

Mr. Coggins said investigations into the fake-drug scandal were not over
but would now be brought back on course.

"There's still work to be done by the FBI here," he said. "They got
sidetracked because they went after the wrong person."