LAPD NO BETTER THAN MOB?

What's the difference between a corrupt police department's "blue wall" of
silence and the Mafia's code of omerta? Apparently, very little, if any,
according to a federal judge in Los Angeles.

Judge William Rea has ruled that the federal Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations Act can be used to sue the Los Angeles Police
Department and the city.

The case involves the department's Rampart Division, which polices a mostly
Latino section of the city. About a year ago, stories began to break about
widespread corruption by police officers in that division, of shakedowns, of
beatings for profit and, in some cases, apparently for sport.

As charges of perjured testimony, planted evidence and coverups were lodged
against the LAPD, more than 100 convictions were overturned. Now, the
lawsuits have begun to appear.

The lead plaintiff is one Louie Guerrero, who maintains that he was beaten
and falsely arrested in 1997 and that his civil rights were violated.

Ordinarily, his suit would be thrown out because civil rights violations
have only a one-year statute of limitations. But RICO, as the act is
commonly known, has a 10-year statute of limitations. Not only that, but
RICO triples the financial damages that can be levied against the city and
the police department if they should lose the suit.

Originally, attorneys for the city estimated its liability at between $125
million and $200 million. Now, they can multiply that by three.

Judge Rea did not deal with the credibility of Mr. Guerrero's claim that the
department condoned the actions by corrupt officers, but his ruling stated
that if the accusation were true, it would come under RICO.

Stephen Yagman, attorney for Mr. Guerrero, was quoted as saying -- "We have
in effect converted a civil rights lawsuit into a racketeering lawsuit, and
it's about time." Mr. Yagman said he had no doubt that "a reasonable jury
will look at the evidence and agree with what I've been claiming for years,
that the LAPD is essentially a criminal organization."

You can bet that lawyers for other police departments will be monitoring
this case carefully.

The RICO act was passed in 1970 as a weapon against traditional
organized-crime groups, such as the Mafia. It proved effective; it all but
destroyed the power of the five ruling Mafia families in New York City.

I remember when the feds first began invoking RICO back in the early 1970s.
It was a heady time to be covering organized crime and the federal courts.
Almost every week, there would be a trial of somebody with a nickname like
"Charlie the Blade," "Tony the Ant" or "Snake."

One time, I flew up to New York, where they had three mob trials going on at
the same time in the federal courthouse, with a U.S. marshal directing
people to each courtroom like an usher at Radio City Music Hall.

Then federal prosecutors began using RICO against drug-smuggling
organizations, most headquartered in South Florida. Again, many top
narcotics chieftains were sent to prison for long terms, and millions of
dollars in fines were imposed, resulting in the seizure of lavish homes,
luxury cars, airplanes and other items as well as cash.

In more recent years, however, the feds came under some criticism for
widening the sphere of RICO even more.

They used it against crooked stock-market dealers and boiler-shop operators.

And in 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion clinics could file
suit under RICO against anti-abortion groups whose protests went too far.

But placing an entire police department in the same category with the
Gambino family and the Cali Cartel comes with the shock of a Los Angeles
earth tremor.

For years, movies and television programs -- most of which were produced in
Los Angeles -- painted a picture of the LAPD as some sort of beatific group
staffed by idealists who existed only to serve the community.

The late Jack Webb, especially, seemed to worship at the shrine of the
department on his Dragnet show.

Then along came the O.J. Simpson murder case, with its sloppy detective
work, the Rodney King beating, the riots of 1992.

As Sgt. Friday might say, those are just the facts, ma'am.