DRUG SCAMS: DALLAS POLICE SHOULD BE CLEANING HOUSE

The noose appears to be tightening in the Dallas Police Department's phony
drugs scandal.

Jose Ruiz-Serrano and Reyes Robert Rodriguez have agreed to cooperate with
the FBI agents who are investigating drug cases that were prosecuted with
fake evidence.

The two men worked with Enrique Alonso, who has been indicted for his role
as a police informant in at least a dozen cases where suspected cocaine
turned out to be gypsum.

It is encouraging that the FBI has scored a breakthrough that could lead to
the real culprits. The fake cocaine, which really was billiard chalk,
caused the arrest and prosecution of dozens of innocent victims, many of
whom were Mexicans. But it is troubling that the FBI probe has been under
way for so long without resolving some key questions.

* Were police narcotics officers knowingly involved in faking the drugs to
make more arrests? The attorney for Mr. Ruiz-Serrano has said his client
will name police officers who forged police pay vouchers to pocket money
that was supposed to go to informants.

* Did the Dallas Police Department give these officers a blank check to pay
those providing information about alleged drug activity? Informants
received more than $250,000 in the last two years from narcotics officers.

The FBI says the probe will take as long as needed. But the sooner it can
be completed, the sooner law enforcement can close the loopholes that led
to this embarrassing scandal.

The Dallas Police Department already is tightening its reins. The lessons
learned from the faked drug arrests should be apparent. Although police
narcotics officers do a difficult job that dictates a certain amount of
independence, arrests and payoffs for information should not be made
without authorization. Payments reaching six figures for drug information
or arrests should never be acceptable without serious review by
administrators. Nor should officers in the field be able to forge pay
vouchers for informants as has been alleged.

The Dallas Police also should work more closely with the FBI and the Drug
Enforcement Agency on cases involving major narcotics trafficking. The
police handling the cocaine busts in question had limited participation of
federal agencies. Wider involvement could prevent such abuse in the future.

The Dallas Police Department should be taking forceful steps to make sure
such abuse can't happen again.