POLICE-CORRUPTION TRIAL OPENS TOMORROW

Two Ex-Detectives Face Hundreds Of Allegations

Two former narcotics detectives who were relatively unknown a year ago will
go on trial tomorrow in one of the largest and most publicized
police-corruption cases ever in Jefferson County.

Mark A. Watson and Christie Richardson, who have resigned from the county
police, are charged with creating bogus search warrants with photocopied
judges' signatures, with obtaining warrants through the use of fraudulent
affidavits, and with obtaining payments for informants who say they never
got the money. Watson faces 472 counts and Richardson 467.

Because of the accusations against Watson and Richardson, the Metro
Narcotics division has altered its policies, drug convictions have been
overturned and dozens of drug charges have been dropped.

"I've never been in the position where I'm walking around making motions to
dismiss cases -- at this volume at least," Alex Dathorne, chief narcotics
prosecutor in the commonwealth's attorney's office, said.

Russell Weaver, a University of Louisville law professor, said the
allegations in the case point to "a major breakdown" in the criminal
justice system and involve one of the biggest police-corruption cases he's
seen since coming to Louisville in 1982.

If convicted, Watson and Richardson each could be sentenced to as long as
70 years in prison for burglary, possession of a forged instrument,
tampering with public records, bribing a witness, theft, perjury and
official misconduct. In addition, Watson faces one count of harassing a
witness.

Their alleged misdeeds occurred over 13 months, starting in January 2001,
and the two are accused in connection with 133 separate incidents of
wrongdoing, according to court records.

Watson, 39, and Richardson, 36, have pleaded innocent and are free on bail.
Neither could be reached for comment.

Mary Sharp, an attorney for Watson, said he is employed but would not say
what he is doing or where he is working. Steve Schroering, Richardson's
attorney, would not comment on her status.

Watson, a former Atlanta police officer, joined the Jefferson County
department in 1992, moving to Metro Narcotics in 1995. Richardson, a former
Georgetown, Ky., officer, joined the county force in 1994 and was teamed
with Watson after joining the narcotics division in 1998.

Metro Narcotics is staffed by both Jefferson County and Louisville police
officers; the unit was under the command of the county in 2002.

Defense Plan For Watson

Schroering declined to discuss his client's defense, but said, "She
absolutely maintains her innocence of any criminal conduct." He would not
say whether Richardson will testify.

Sharp said her client's statement to investigators reveals part of his defense.

In the statement, Watson said money he was to pay confidential informants
did go to them, and when he signed informants' names, he did so only with
their permission.

Sharp declined to reveal other aspects of his defense.

"I think that there are a lot of problems with the commonwealth's case --
specifically, counts of the indictment that we don't believe have
sufficient evidence which support them -- certainly not beyond a reasonable
doubt," Sharp said. She indicated there may be problems with the burglary
counts but declined to elaborate.

Sharp said she doesn't believe referring to the case as one of the largest
examples of alleged police corruption is fair.

Watson's "prime motivation in being a narcotics detective was to clean our
streets up and to remove the drugs from them," she said.

It has not been decided whether Watson will testify, Sharp said. "I'll tell
you he wants to testify, but I'm just not sure if I'm going to recommend
that or not."

Prosecutor Scott Davis would not comment about the case.

Trial Could Move To Bowling Green

The publicity the case has generated locally prompted attorneys for both
Watson and Richardson to ask Jefferson Circuit Judge Steve Mershon to move
the trial outside Jefferson County.

Prosecutors Davis and Jonathan Dyar objected, and Mershon kept the trial in
Jefferson County -- at least to start.

But Mershon said that if enough potential jurors who haven't prejudged the
case can't be found in the pool of 120 brought to the courtroom tomorrow,
he would move the trial to Bowling Green.

A courtroom there will be on standby, he said. The trial is expected to
last from three to six weeks.

Pay Discrepancy Started The Probe

The investigation of Watson and Richardson began early last February when
Watson's supervisors started looking into discrepancies in pay Watson was
allegedly receiving for court appearances.

Since he and Richardson were first suspended in February, many of the cases
they worked have been called into question.

Eight convictions involving seven defendants have been overturned. Charges
against 32 defendants have been dismissed in 19 cases that were pending in
Jefferson Circuit Court. Prosecutors have also stopped pursuing allegations
that were pending before the grand jury. Those involved 17 defendants in
nine cases.

In 15 cases in District Court, charges have been dismissed or convictions
have been set aside, said Bill Patteson, a spokesman for the county
attorney's office.

Dathorne said he plans to present a motion today to set aside a ninth
conviction in Circuit Court.

All narcotics cases where either Watson or Richardson was the lead
detective are being re-evaluated, a process that could take years, Dathorne
said.

"Ultimately, I think we're taking wrongs and we're making rights," he said.

Watson and Richardson are also at the heart of a class-action lawsuit
naming as defendants the detectives, the city of Louisville and two former
Jefferson County police chiefs. The suit, filed on behalf of those
investigated by the detectives, accuses Watson and Richardson of violating
the constitutional rights of people they investigated and accuses other
government officials of condoning police misconduct.

The suit is on hold pending the outcome of the criminal case.

Maury Kommor, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said, "The scariest
thing that you could ever have is a police officer enter your home and say
you've done something wrong when you haven't."

Metro Narcotics Undergoes Changes

In October, the Jefferson County police received a report on a $60,000
review of Metro Narcotics done by the Washington-based Police Executive
Research Forum.

The review said supervisors missed or ignored warning signs that might have
more quickly revealed allegations that Watson and Richardson were taking
informants' pay and fabricating search warrants.

Changes were recommended, at least some of which were adopted by former
county police Chief William Carcara, who retired at the end of 2002 in
preparation for the merger of the city and county departments under Chief
Robert White.

Helene Kramer, a spokeswoman for Louisville Metro Police, the merged
department, said White, who took over last Monday, is aware of the
situation but has not been fully briefed on Metro Narcotics. The unit will
be included in a review of all divisions.

Among the changes Carcara made: Adopting an evaluation process that weighs
the quality of arrests and whether they result in convictions; encouraging
detectives to pursue larger cases involving higher-level dealers; and
requiring commanding officers to witness payments to informants.

Another change that affected the entire county police department is the
adoption of a system that proves officers are in court to testify and
therefore are eligible for court overtime pay.

The Courier-Journal reported in March that 21 of Watson's 41 cases in 2001
were dropped because he didn't appear in court but that he nonetheless
collected court pay in 10 of the dropped cases.

Carcara said he would leave broader changes recommended in the report up to
the new chief, who is dealing with merging the city and county departments.