GREED, PRESSURE LED TO FAKE-DRUG SCHEME

Informant Testifies At Trial Of Ex-Cop; Lawyer Calls Officer Scapegoat

The mastermind of a plan to arrest dozens of innocent people on false drug
charges testified Wednesday that he was motivated by greed, as well as
pressure by former Dallas police Detective Mark Delapaz, to make bigger and
bigger drug busts.

Testifying on the opening day of Mr. Delapaz's federal civil rights trial,
former confidential informant Enrique Alonso said Mr. Delapaz frequently
told him and other informants that he wasn't satisfied with the amount of
drugs they were helping the detective seize in arrests. "Sometimes we got
25 [kilos] and he said he wanted more. ... One time he said he wanted 200
kilos," he said.

WFAA-TV Mark Delapaz arrives at the federal courthouse on Wednesday.

In opening statements, defense attorney Paul Coggins described his client,
a 13-year department veteran, as a "cop's cop" and the lone scapegoat of a
scandal that embarrassed police commanders and the Dallas County district
attorney's office. Many were "fooled" by the informants' scheme, but Mr.
Delapaz is the only one being held accountable, he said. "When people
thought the drugs were real, everybody rushed to take credit for it. ...
When it's learned the drugs were fake, the blame rolls down to a lowly
street cop," said Mr. Coggins, a former U.S. attorney. Mr. Alonso ­ a
former drug dealer and user ­ said he hatched the plan to plant fake drugs
that would lead to the arrest of innocent people because Mr. Delapaz told
him he'd pay $1,000 for every kilo of drugs confiscated. He also said he
realized that the detective was not searching him before the transactions
or closely examining the seized substances. Mr. Alonso said repeatedly that
Mr. Delapaz was not aware of the informants' scheme. But at the height of
the scheme, in summer 2001, Mr. Alonso testified, he and Mr. Delapaz often
talked daily by telephone and they sometimes joked with each other that the
drugs were fake. "Sometimes he called me and said, 'It's not real, it's
fake.' ... He said he's joking, Mr. Alonso testified, often switching
between English and Spanish. On the stand Witnesses on the first day of the
federal civil rights trial of former Dallas police Detective Mark Delapaz:
Yvonne Gwyn, 53, of Dallas. Of the four people prosecutors say were falsely
arrested on the word of Mr. Delapaz, Ms. Gwyn was the first to testify. Ms.
Gwyn described her Sept. 7, 2001, arrest, telling jurors that an unknown
man dropped off a 1984 blue Honda Civic for a tune-up and cleaning. Mr.
Delapaz later told a judge that he saw her retrieve a package from the car.
She denies that accusation.

Enrique Alonso, 46, the conspiracy's self-described mastermind, testified
how he devised a scheme to plant fake drugs on innocent people. The motive:
to make money for himself and other informants, aided by Mr. Delapaz's lax
supervision, he said.

The trial resumes Thursday and is expected to last through Dec. 12.

To reach a guilty verdict, jurors do not have to consider whether Mr.
Delapaz, 35, knew that the seized drugs were fake. He is accused of lying
in reports and to a prosecutor about witnessing transactions in those cases
that prosecutors say never occurred.

Prison time possible The victims' civil rights against unlawful arrest were
violated because the detective's false statements created enough probable
cause for judges to issue arrest warrants, prosecutors say. They also say
that he lied about what he saw when questioned by the FBI. Mr. Delapaz
faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Mr. Alonso, the department's highest-paid confidential informant in 2001,
testified that the former detective could not have witnessed details
outlined in his arrest reports because they never occurred. Among the
incidents Mr. Alonso said never occurred: • In the June 2001 arrest of
Roberto Amador, Mr. Delapaz wrote in his report that he witnessed Mr.
Amador place an ice chest full of drugs inside an informant's car. Mr.
Alonso told jurors that the ice chest was in the informant's car the whole
time.

• In the September 2001 arrest of Yvonne Gwyn, Mr. Delapaz wrote in a
report that he watched Ms. Gwyn go to a car parked outside her business and
retrieve a bag. Mr. Alonso testified that he was with Mr. Delapaz and never
saw Ms. Gwyn leave her business.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Blumberg, in his opening statement,
described Mr. Delapaz as motivated by the glory of producing large drug
arrests and seizures.

"The defendant was willing to lie and make up evidence in order to support
a drug case," Mr. Blumberg said. "The defendant was willing to do it
because he wanted to make bigger and bigger arrests."

Dressed in a black suit, Mr. Delapaz sat stoically and, at times, took
notes during opening statements and testimony. His wife, Catherine, a
Dallas police officer, and other supporters sat a row behind him in U.S.
District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn's court.

Others jailed attend trial The charges stem from the so-called Sheetrock
drug scandal. Drug evidence in at least two dozen cases from April to
October 2001 turned out to be fake or to contain only traces of drugs. More
than 80 cases were ultimately dismissed ­ including legitimate busts ­
because they were tainted by the involvement of Mr. Delapaz and his informants.

Three informants, including Mr. Alonso, pleaded guilty to civil rights
violations and are cooperating with authorities as they await sentencing.
Several of the falsely accused whose cases are not part of the trial
attended the opening day. Jose Vega said he was curious to see Mr.
Delapaz's face because the former undercover officer wore a mask during his
arrest. 'I feel the same' Mr. Vega said that seeing the start of the trial
more than two years after his arrest did not make him feel better. "I feel
the same," he said. "I won't feel anything different until it's over."

Jacinto Jesus Mejia said he wondered why Mr. Delapaz was the only police
officer charged with a crime. The officer's former partner, Officer Eddie
Herrera, remains on paid leave while federal agents continue to investigate
the cases. "There are others," Mr. Mejia said. "I don't think he was alone."