DECORATED OFFICER INDICTED IN SCANDAL

One of DuPage County's most decorated police officers was indicted
Wednesday on charges of theft and official misconduct.

Bensenville police Sgt. Joe De Anda, a nearly 20-year department veteran,
was charged with one count of felony theft and six counts of official
misconduct. DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett announced the grand
jury indictment Wednesday.

"It's a sad day when charges are brought against a police officer or any
public employee," Birkett said.

Authorities allege that on six occasions between January 1995 and July
1996, De Anda, 48, removed a total of $6,019 in cash from the department
that had been seized during gambling and drugs investigations.

The indictment also alleges De Anda altered department records to make it
look like the money had been deposited properly, and that in February 1998,
he returned the same amount of money to the department and claimed it was
the seized money. That in itself would classify as misconduct, Birkett said.

Reached at his Bensenville home Wednesday, De Anda denied any wrongdoing
and said he believes he's been set up.

"I'm just kind of numb right now," De Anda said. "I don't have much to say.
I'm absolutely innocent. ... It's a shame this hasn't been a fair and
impartial investigation from the get-go."

De Anda is the second officer indicted on charges stemming from a January
1998 FBI raid on Club Latino, a Bensenville bar owned by De Anda's parents
and managed by his brother.

The raid touched off an investigation by the village, which was headed by
Theodore Poulos, a former assistant U.S. attorney. The probe into the FBI
raid has concluded, but a separate investigation is continuing.

William Wassman, a former evidence custodian, was indicted in February 1999
on charges of obstruction of justice and official misconduct on suspicion
he tampered with evidence. He resigned in September and criminal charges
are pending.

In the police department's internal investigation, De Anda also was accused
of concealing drug trafficking at Club Latino.

In addition, he is accused by the village of failing to pay taxes on
$10,000 he earned for his work with Bensenville Security Services, an
unlicensed, now defunct security firm operated by officers from inside the
Bensenville Police Department.

The village also accused De Anda of improperly conducting the police
department's investigation of the tavern for a liquor license renewal.

None of the activities alleged by the village was included in Wednesday's
indictment.

If found guilty of the theft and misconduct charges, De Anda could face two
to five years in prison.

De Anda has not been arrested but is expected to surrender to authorities
today. His bond has been set at $10,000.

De Anda, whom Birkett called a "well-respected officer," once worked for
DuPage Metropolitan Enforcement Group, a special narcotics unit, and was
the first officer in the county to pose as a drug dealer. In 1990 he earned
the Governor's Award for his drug-bust work, and in 1993 made, at the time,
the largest marijuana bust in county history.

"The public places its trust in our hands," said Birkett, who added cases
against police officers are rare.

The village referred its investigation of DeAnda to the state's attorney's
office last March.

De Anda has been suspended without pay, and police commissioners are
planning termination hearings against him.