MINOR PLAYERS IN FBI POLICE STING SENTENCED

A former San Antonio police officer and the uncle of a police sergeant
snared in an FBI sting were sentenced to federal prison today for
their roles in providing protection for shipments of what they thought
was cocaine.

U.S. District Judge Edward C. Prado sentenced Manuel Cedillo Jr., a
12-year veteran patrolman who resigned after his arrest last year, to
two years and four months in prison.

Edward Fragozo, whose nephew was described as a ringleader in the
scheme to protect cocaine dealers, received a prison sentence of two
years and six months.

Prosecutors described Cedillo and Fragozo as relatively minor players
in the operation. Both pleaded guilty to federal drug charges in
Prado's court.

They were among 12 defendants arrested in March 2001 in an
investigation into police corruption. The string produced the arrests
of eight San Antonio police officers, two other local law officers and
two civilians.

As part of the probe, which began in 1997, an FBI agent posed as a
drug dealer named "Ricardo" who made cash payments to police
officers to provide security for his "cocaine shipments."

The shipments actually consisted of crumbled plasterboard packed to
look like drugs.

According to court documents, Cedillo received $2,000 to serve as a
lookout for the drug traffickers in a hotel parking lot. Fragozo posed
as a law enforcement officer and was paid $2,500 to help escort 75
kilograms of supposed cocaine, court papers state.

Only former Police Officer Arthur Gutierrez Jr. chose to plead his
innocence in court and leave the decision to a jury. Jurors in
Gutierrez's first trial couldn't reach a verdict, but a second jury
found him guilty.

Of the original 12 defendants, 10 entered guilty pleas and three of
those have been sentenced. Seven others, including Gutierrez, are
awaiting sentencing.

Federal prosecutors have agreed to dismiss a theft charge against the
last defendant if he successfully completes a year under federal
supervision.