NO BOND FOR 'RINGLEADERS'

Believing he had just transported 10 kilograms of cocaine in his squad car,
San Antonio Police Officer David Anthony Morales daydreamed aloud about the
future while his police radio squawked in the background, according to
documents filed Tuesday by prosecutors.

Photo: Accused San Antonio Police Officer Manuel Cedillo Jr. walks with an
unidentified woman Tuesday after posting a $100,000 bond in federal court.

The prosecutors charge that Morales, on duty and in uniform, offered to
guard cocaine shipments in a gated community around the clock and asked for
an automatic weapon so he could kill intruders at "close quarters."

However, court records say, he drew the line at shooting drug enforcement
agents.

Federal authorities claim they recorded that conversation on one of the 250
videotapes that form the foundation of a police corruption case unveiled
last week after a dozen arrests.

Prosecutors filed a transcript of the comments they attribute to Morales in
preparation for Tuesday's detention hearings, which ended with U.S.
Magistrate Judge John Primomo denying bond for the two San Antonio
officers, Sgt. Conrad Fragozo Jr. and Patrick Bowron, who are accused of
leading the group.

"These are the two ringleaders of this conspiracy," Assistant U.S. Attorney
David Counts said.

The judge's decision stunned the two officers' families, partly because
four of the officers prosecutors say were accomplices walked away earlier
in the day after posting the $100,000 bond set Monday by Primomo -- $10,000
in a cashier's check and the rest pledged in property by friends and family.

Officers Arthur Gutierrez Jr., Manuel Cedillo Jr. and Lawrence Bustos,
still threading a belt though the loops of his slacks, emerged from the
U.S. Marshal's Office at the courthouse just after 11 a.m. Officer Peter
Saenz left about three hours later.

A 15-year veteran of the police force, Gutierrez said he didn't know what
the future holds as he walked into the cold drizzle.

"I told my wife it's like a nightmare," Gutierrez said.

The others had nothing to say.

Also Tuesday, Primomo set a $75,000 bond for civilian Edward Fragozo, the
sergeant's uncle.

Two more law officers, patrolman Alfred Valdes and former reserve Deputy
Constable Gilbert Andrade Jr., are set to have detention hearings today, as
is Albert Mata, a civilian.

Officer Morales' chance to argue for release is scheduled later this week.

In all, 10 law officers and two civilians are charged in federal
indictments, which claim as their centerpiece a conspiracy among six
officers and a relative.

Richard "Bucky" Rowlett Buchanan, a Bexar County sheriff's deputy, is
charged with theft of $2,000.

All but Buchanan are accused of attempting to possess and distribute what
they believed to be cocaine. The government alleges they transported and
guarded bogus drugs supplied by an undercover FBI agent posing as a drug
trafficker identified only as "Ricardo."

According to court documents, Morales offered Ricardo advice on how to run
his smuggling business, suggesting April 24, 1999, that Ricardo rent an
apartment in a gated complex as a stash house. Morales is accused of twice
moving what he believed to be cocaine, for a total of 15 kilos.

Morales declared he would protect the stash house, 24 hours a day for at
least a week, according to court records.

"If some thugs other than DEA come up, I'm going to kill a couple of people
and then I'm gonna leave and your (cocaine is) gone," he tells Ricardo,
according to the transcript.

To defend himself, Morales said he needed Ricardo to buy him an automatic
weapon, the records say.

During the conversation, prosecutors allege, Morales received a call from a
police dispatcher.

"... And after having a beer, (Morales) stated that he guessed he should
respond to the accident," according to the document signed by Counts.

During the court hearing, three police officers, a fraud investigator and
more than a dozen other witnesses labored to convince magistrate Primomo
that officer Bowron, Sgt. Fragozo and Edward Fragozo posed no danger or
flight risk.

Friends and family described them as a former hallway monitor in elementary
school, a former altar boy and a reformed cocaine user, respectively.

On the witness stand, Laura Fragozo, the sergeant's wife, emphasized her
husband's dedication to the force.

The two Fragozos and Bowron sat at the same table throughout their separate
detention hearings. When the surveillance videos were played, Bowron leaned
forward, squinting at the projection screen while Edward Fragozo looked away.

Sgt. Fragozo craned his head to get a better look, then lowered his head
and shielded his eyes.

At one point, Primomo noted the videotape appeared to depict Sgt. Fragozo
intent on guarding what he believed was cocaine. Then, the magistrate asked
a question of Alejandro Balderas, the third police officer to testify on
behalf of Fragozo.

"What do you think he would have done if you or another officer had showed
up at the door of the hotel room?" Primomo said.

"I don't know," Balderas responded.

In the end, Primomo set bond for Edward Fragozo but declared the two others
would be too tempted to flee since they both face life sentences if convicted.

Sgt. Fragozo's attorney, Joel Perez, said afterward that he intends to
appeal the decision.