CHIEF SAYS OFFICERS BETRAYED HONOR

Federal agents and city police swept through San Antonio in pre-dawn
darkness with a grim task Thursday - arresting fellow law officers on
charges they used their police power, guns and badges to protect shipments
of cocaine traveling through the Alamo City.

A San Antonio patrol sergeant, seven San Antonio patrol officers, a Bexar
County sheriff's deputy, a former Bexar County reserve deputy constable and
two civilians were charged with federal crimes including conspiracy,
attempted possession and distribution of cocaine, firearms violations and
theft.

Four of the San Antonio officers were arrested in uniform as they began or
ended work for the day.

Early in the afternoon, a somber-faced Police Chief Al Philippus faced a
wall of reporters and television news cameras, describing the investigation
and arrests as a "kick in the gut" that impugned the integrity of honest
officers everywhere.

"We are sickened and shocked by the inexcusable actions of these officers,"
Philippus said as news cameras broadcast his remarks live across the city.
"They have betrayed the honor of every San Antonio police officer who wears
this uniform, every law enforcement officer in this nation, but mostly the
community who they swore to serve and protect."

The arrests culminated an FBI investigation that began in 1997 in which
undercover agents posed as drug traffickers. Authorities allege the
defendants accepted money to protect drug shipments, transport what they
believed to be cocaine and, in at least one case, supply the sham drug
dealers with inside information.

Attorneys for at least two of the accused said their clients are innocent,
claiming they will vigorously defend themselves.

Arrested on charges of attempting to possess and distribute cocaine were
SAPD officers Sgt. Conrad Fragozo Jr., 36; Patrick Bowron, 27; Peter Saenz,
31; Arthur Gutierrez Jr., 38; Lawrence Bustos, 37; Manuel Cedillo Jr., 35;
Alfred Valdes, 28; and David Anthony Morales, 39.

Also charged were former Bexar County Reserve Deputy Constable Gilbert
Andrade Jr., 28, and civilians Edward Fragozo, 37, the uncle of the SAPD
sergeant, and Albert Mata, 39.

Richard Rowlett Buchanan, 44, a Bexar County sheriff's deputy, was charged
with theft of public money. Authorities allege he broke into a vehicle in
July 1998 and took $2,000.

Conrad and Edward Fragozo, Bowron, Saenz, Gutierrez, Bustos and Cedillo
also face conspiracy charges. Conrad Fragozo, Bowron, Gutierrez and Morales
also are charged with carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.

"We truly do intend to fight these charges, I mean, tooth and nail," said
Jimmy Parks, attorney for Gutierrez.

While authorities would not detail the evidence against the suspects, Parks
said the bulk of it is on video and audiotape.

"It's not infallible evidence, and in many cases, it's ambiguous and
subject to interpretation," Parks said.

Defendants were formally charged Thursday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate
Judge John Primomo. The charges carry punishments ranging from 10 years to
life in prison.

Philippus said the San Antonio officers were being placed on administrative
leave without pay.

Andrade, who now is an investigator for Our Lady of the Lake College, was
placed on unpaid leave, school spokeswoman Susan Schleicher said.

Conrad Fragozo and Buchanan worked part-time as security officers for the
San Antonio Housing Authority, and face termination from those positions,
said Frazier Barnett, SAHA's chief of security.

Roderick L. Beverly, special agent in charge of the FBI's San Antonio
division, said the investigation began in 1997, based on information the
agency obtained during other narcotics cases. Philippus found out in1998.

Beverly said undercover federal agents posed as drug dealers and approached
the defendants, seeking protection and/or transport help and offering fees
ranging from $800 to $6,500. The agents used fake drugs, but the defendants
were unaware of that, Beverly said.

"We were renting their badges and their guns," he said.

Among the specific charges:

Valdes is accused of getting $800 for supplying information he had access
to as a police officer between Aug. 18, 2000, and March 10 to people he
believed were drug dealers. Morales is accused of transporting more than 5
kilos of a substance he believed was cocaine on two occasions - on Jan. 24,
1999, and April 24, 1999 - from one San Antonio hotel to another for a fee
of $5,000.

Andrade is charged with transporting more than five kilos of what he
believed was cocaine from a San Antonio bus station to a local hotel on
Aug. 15, 1999 for a fee of $2,000.

Mata, authorities charge, twice received $1,000 for transporting an
unspecified amount of what he believed was cocaine from the San Antonio
International Airport to a nearby hotel, on April 8, 1998, and again three
days later.

Beverly described Thursday as a "bittersweet day" that culminated a long
and important investigation, but also exposed painful human frailties.

"It hurts us even deeper because many of the officers are friends and
co-workers and because they have families who are also affected," Beverly
said. "It is not a time for celebration."

The officers ranged in age from 27 to 44 and had put in five to 15 years of
service with the local law enforcement agencies.

Family members crowded a federal courtroom Thursday afternoon, cried and
consoled each other as they listened to the charges for the first time. One
woman clutched a green beaded crucifix.

Throughout the short hearing, most of the defendants sat glumly in silence.

Only David Anthony Morales, a patrol officer who faces 15 years to life in
prison, showed emotion. As the group waited for the hearing to begin,
Morales stole a quick glance at family members over his shoulder, then
faced the front of the courtroom and burst into sobs.

At the suggestion of prosecutors, Primomo ordered 11 of the men to be held
without bond.

Primomo ordered the 12th, sheriff's deputy Buchanan, to be held pending a
$250,000 bond, the amount suggested by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Counts.

Counts said he made the exception for Buchanan because he is charged with a
property crime. But he cited a risk to public safety and the potential of
stiff sentences in asking Primomo to hold the remaining defendants without
bond.

The issue will be revisited on Tuesday during a formal detention hearing.

Attorneys for at least four of the defendants said they would seek personal
recognizance bonds.

"I don't think that any judge would believe that out client is a danger to
the community or is a flight risk," said Joel Perez, who represents Conrad
Fragozo Jr. "We think he's the one in danger as a police officer being
incarcerated."

Attorney Roy Barrera Jr., who is representing Bustos, said he was told the
defendants would be segregated from other inmates.

Philippus said the incident demonstrated his department would not shrink
away from dealing with corruption in its ranks.

"These indictments and arrests demonstrate that swift action will follow
for those who violate the laws, no matter who they are," the chief said
during an afternoon news conference.

A check of civil service commission records showed that four of the
arrested San Antonio police officers have faced disciplinary action in the
past.

Bowron received a 30-day suspension in 1999 after he was charged with
assaulting his girlfriend. He was later found not guilty. Morales received
a five-day suspension in 1990 after he fired his weapon at a person who was
stealing his car. Gutierrez was suspended for two days in 1991 on a charge
that he had a ticket dismissed for someone, and was suspended for one day
after he failed to report for special assignment duty at a carnival.

Cedillo was suspended for one day in 1992 after he had a wreck while on duty.

ctumiel@express-news.net

Staff writers Karisa King, Amy Dorsett, Lisa Sandberg, Manny Gonzales,
Linda Prendez, William Pack, Tom Bower, Daryl Bell, and Jeanne Russell.