News (Media Awareness Project) - US CA: Whistle-Blowing Prosecutor Reassigned |
| Title: | US CA: Whistle-Blowing Prosecutor Reassigned |
| Published On: | 2000-04-03 |
| Source: | Orange County Register (CA) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-04 22:54:53 |
WHISTLE-BLOWING PROSECUTOR REASSIGNED
LAW: Memos show he wanted to indict officers in the Rampart Division scandal.
LOS ANGELES - A prosecutor who urged his superiors to file conspiracy
charges against several police officers was pulled of the task force
investigating corruption days later, the Daily News of Los Angeles reported
Sunday.
District Attorney Gil Garcetti had denied on a radio talk show that Deputy
District Attorney George Rosenstock sought approval to indict officers
involved in a station-house beating.
But when faced Saturday with confidential memos obtained by the Daily News,
Garcetti's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons acknowledged Rosenstock wanted to file
the first criminal charges against officers other than Rafeal Perez, the
central figure in the Rampart Division scandal.
Perez turned informant after his arrest in August 1998 when he was caught
stealing 8 pounds of cocaine from a police evidence room. Since then he has
given investigators a litany of wrongdoing in the Rampart station's
anti-gang unit, saying fellow officers repeatedly falsified evidence,
framed innocent people and lied under oath to win convictions.
Police Chief Bernard Parks and others have criticized Garcetti for not
moving swiftly enough to file charges against crooked officers. Garcetti,
who faces a November run-off election, has said he won't jeopardize cases
by filing them without sufficient evidence.
Gibbons said top prosecutors were aware of Rosenstock's memos, but insisted
Garcetti never was.
"There was no reason for them to notify (Garcetti). It was just a memo,
basically a prosecutor's assessment of what needed to be done," Gibbons said.
Gibbons said Sunday that neither she nor Garcetti would comment further on
the memos.
Rosenstock's first memos about filing charges against Rampart officers are
from December, according to the Daily News. By February, he wrote that he
had a solid conspiracy case against officers involved in the Feb.26, 1998,
beating of Ismael Jimenez.
Within days, Rosenstock was pulled off the task force.
LAW: Memos show he wanted to indict officers in the Rampart Division scandal.
LOS ANGELES - A prosecutor who urged his superiors to file conspiracy
charges against several police officers was pulled of the task force
investigating corruption days later, the Daily News of Los Angeles reported
Sunday.
District Attorney Gil Garcetti had denied on a radio talk show that Deputy
District Attorney George Rosenstock sought approval to indict officers
involved in a station-house beating.
But when faced Saturday with confidential memos obtained by the Daily News,
Garcetti's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons acknowledged Rosenstock wanted to file
the first criminal charges against officers other than Rafeal Perez, the
central figure in the Rampart Division scandal.
Perez turned informant after his arrest in August 1998 when he was caught
stealing 8 pounds of cocaine from a police evidence room. Since then he has
given investigators a litany of wrongdoing in the Rampart station's
anti-gang unit, saying fellow officers repeatedly falsified evidence,
framed innocent people and lied under oath to win convictions.
Police Chief Bernard Parks and others have criticized Garcetti for not
moving swiftly enough to file charges against crooked officers. Garcetti,
who faces a November run-off election, has said he won't jeopardize cases
by filing them without sufficient evidence.
Gibbons said top prosecutors were aware of Rosenstock's memos, but insisted
Garcetti never was.
"There was no reason for them to notify (Garcetti). It was just a memo,
basically a prosecutor's assessment of what needed to be done," Gibbons said.
Gibbons said Sunday that neither she nor Garcetti would comment further on
the memos.
Rosenstock's first memos about filing charges against Rampart officers are
from December, according to the Daily News. By February, he wrote that he
had a solid conspiracy case against officers involved in the Feb.26, 1998,
beating of Ismael Jimenez.
Within days, Rosenstock was pulled off the task force.
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