JURY CONVICTS FORMER NARCOTICS OFFICER IN BOGUS DRUG BUY

Peter Aurigemma lost his job and his standing as a respected undercover
officer over allegations that he forged a police report to shut down a bar
west of Boca Raton.

Now he could lose his freedom. A jury convicted him on Wednesday of a
felony and misdemeanor in the case.

After about 90 minutes of deliberations, jurors agreed that Aurigemma, 43,
could not have bought a half-gram of cocaine from the bartender at TJ
Murphy's as he claimed, since the business had been closed under an
eviction notice for nonpayment of rent.

He was convicted of official misconduct, a third-degree felony, and filing
a false report of a nonexistent crime, a misdemeanor. He faces up to five
years in prison when sentenced on April 27.

Aurigemma was acquitted of a third charge of possession of cocaine, the
same half-gram he said he bought at the bar.

It is a case that prosecutor Al Johnson called tragic, especially
considering it ruined months of police work tied up in investigating
employees at TJ Murphy's for drug dealing.

"All down the line, it made law enforcement look bad," Johnson said. "There
can be no excuse for this kind of a crime."

Aurigemma had bought cocaine several times from the bartender/manager at TJ
Murphy's during a months-long investigation.

According to his report, he made his last purchase on May 27, 1998 -- the
day after the bar was shut down under an eviction notice and hours after
the power company had shut off the electricity. The narcotics officer's
report stated that he went into the bar through a propped open door, as
usual, and sat among several patrons sipping drinks.

Johnson said the buy could never have taken place, because the power was
off, the locks on the bar's doors had been changed and eviction notices had
been posted.

"It was a lie," Johnson said.

Aurigemma's attorney, Scott Richardson, though, questioned why the
detective, described as hard-working and dedicated by his supervisors,
would jeopardize his career.

"Where is the corrupt intent? Where is the motivation for doing this?"
Richardson asked the jury in closing arguments on Wednesday. "The only
thing that happens is that Peter's career gets ruined if he does this."

Aurigemma was fired in October 1998, five months after the Sheriff's Office
launched an investigation into what it considered a questionable drug deal,
one that caused it much embarrassment.

In fact, Richardson suggested Aurigemma was a scapegoat for his red-faced
department, which was humiliated when it called the media in to witness a
raid on TJ Murphy's the day after Aurigemma's supposed buy. When 60 heavily
armed officers arrived, the business had been closed for days.

Richardson said he will appeal the decision.