EX-TROOPER FOUND GUILTY IN THEFT OF IMPOUNDED COCAINE

A former California Highway Patrol officer was convicted Wednesday of
taking part in what authorities described as the largest theft of
drugs from any law enforcement agency in the state.

George Michael Ruelas, 43, faces a possible life prison term for his
role in the disappearance of nearly 650 pounds of cocaine from an
evidence locker at the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement in
Riverside over the Fourth of July holiday weekend in 1997.

After deliberating less than two hours, a Los Angeles federal court
jury found Ruelas guilty of conspiracy and possession of narcotics
intended for distribution. U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder set
sentencing for Aug. 26. Ruelas, a 13-year CHP veteran, was one of
three rogue law enforcement officers who staged a fake burglary at the
narcotic bureau office and then peddled the drugs through a Manhattan
Beach dealer, according to prosecutors.

The other officers were Ruelas' half brother, Richard Wayne Parker,
47, a veteran narcotics agent assigned to the Riverside office; and
Michael Wilcox, 42, Ruelas' former CHP partner.

Assistant U.S. Attys. Beverly Reid O'Connell and Lisabeth Rhodes said
the three netted about $1.8 million from the cache.

Parker was convicted of the cocaine theft in 1999. He is serving a
life prison term. Wilcox was later indicted on charges of structuring
cash bank deposits to avoid federal reporting requirements. Under
questioning, he implicated himself and Ruelas in the theft.

Parker, he said, came up with the idea to steal the cocaine while the
office was closed over the holiday. Wilcox said he served as a lookout
as Ruelas entered the evidence vault, using a key and an access code
provided by Parker.

Wilcox said Ruelas left behind a mechanical door spreader and a set of
alligator clips attached to the alarm box to make it look as if the
office had been burglarized.

Because Parker was expected to come under scrutiny, it was decided
that he would stay away that night so he could establish an alibi,
according to Wilcox.

After loading several duffel bags filled with cocaine into his sport
utility vehicle, Wilcox said, he drove to his home near Fresno.
Periodically over the next year, he said, Ruelas would drive there to
pick up consignments of cocaine intended for sale in the Southern
California area.

In a bid for leniency, Wilcox agreed to wear a concealed recording
device and met with Ruelas before Thanksgiving in 1999 at an East L.A.
restaurant. Portions of the tape were played for the jury.

Though Ruelas never directly admitted taking part in the heist, his
comments proved damaging.

"I always made sure you got yours," he told Wilcox, an apparent
reference to an agreement to split the proceeds, O'Connell told the
jury. Wilcox, the prosecution's star witness, testified that he
received about $600,000 from drug sales handled by Parker.

Taking the stand in his defense, Ruelas said he was driving to Tucson
on the night of July 4, 1997, when prosecutors say the locker was
raided. He said he left California about 3 p.m. and arrived in Tucson
about 10:30 p.m. at his mother-in-law's home.

To back up his account, defense lawyers introduced a billing statement
showing that Ruelas' credit card was used to buy gas in Tucson on July
4, 1997. Prosecutors countered with records showing that the Ruelas
credit card was used in Tucson at 10:58 that morning, when, by all
accounts, he was still in California.

Ruelas' defense team was caught off guard by the disclosure.