SAN QUENTIN GUARD ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES

Officer a leader in powerful union

Regional -- A veteran San Quentin State Prison guard who holds a leadership
position in the prison system's powerful union was in jail yesterday after
corrections officials arrested him in Bay Point during the weekend.

Lee P. Beck, 40, was arrested Saturday on charges of possession and sale of
narcotics, transportation and sale of narcotics and possession of a
concealed substance. He was being held on $85,000 bail at Contra Costa
County's Martinez Detention Facility, jail officials said yesterday.

A law enforcement source said the investigation was being handled by the
California Department of Corrections Office of Internal Affairs, which has
been on a three-year crusade to root out drugs from state prisons.

Beck has been a correctional officer for 17 years and serves as vice
president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association's San
Quentin chapter. The chapter represents 700 officers.

California Correctional Peace Officers Association vice president Lance
Corcoran said Beck has not been accused of criminal activity in the past.

``Lee has been a very loyal advocate to the members of CCPOA,'' Corcoran
said. ``Our thoughts are with his family right now. We're hoping there is no
truth to the allegations. If there is, all I can say is it's a tragedy.

``We're going to presume innocence until the facts of the case are presented
to us and we can determine guilt or innocence. We see nothing (to prove his
guilt) at this point,'' Corcoran said.

Corcoran said he has no reason to believe the arrest is part of a wider
investigation of correctional officers at San Quentin.

San Quentin officials did not return several calls yesterday seeking comment
on Beck's arrest.

The internal affairs unit was created in July 1997 after allegations that
Corcoran State Prison guards had staged gladiator-style fights among
inmates. The 100-member staff includes veteran narcotics agents.

Last year, the agency's investigators cracked a narcotics smuggling ring at
San Quentin prison whose members allegedly included a prison guard, a prison
cook and a paroled inmate. It has also broken narcotics cases involving
sworn peace officers and other personnel at Ironwood and New Folsom state
prisons.

The prison guards' union is a powerful force in California politics.
Campaign reports show that the union has helped raise more than $250,000 for
Gov. Gray Davis.