EX-TUCSON COP'S BETRAYAL OF TRUST IN DRUG CASE BRINGS LIFE SENTENCE

A former Tucson police officer sentenced to life in prison without parole
on federal drug charges received the maximum sentence, in part, because he
betrayed his badge, a prosecutor said yesterday.

Richard Wayne Parker, 45, also was fined $16 million Wednesday in U.S.
District in Los Angeles for engineering the theft of 650 pounds of cocaine
from a California evidence locker.

``He received an aggravated sentence because the court found he had abused
the public trust,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Beverly Reid O'Connell said
yesterday.

Parker was convicted Oct. 21 of conspiracy to distribute narcotics and
three counts of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine stolen
from a California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement evidence locker in
Riverside on July 4, 1997.

The theft was the largest ever from a California law enforcement agency. It
launched a federal corruption probe that, so far, has snared three other
officers, including two with ties to the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

Agents have alleged in affidavits that the four officers used their badges
to steal narcotics and money from drug dealers in California. O'Connell
declined to comment on the ongoing investigation beyond that Parker has not
been charged with alleged home invasions linked to the case.

Parker's attorney could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Parker quit the Tucson Police Department in the late 1980s to become a
special agent with the California narcotics bureau. He was arrested July 2,
1998, after his former girlfriend gave him an envelope containing $47,000.

Federal prosecutors presented evidence at trial alleging Parker had used a
former girlfriend to sell cocaine he acquired through his duties as a
narcotics agent.

Jurors also heard he had the keys and access code to the locker and that he
stored large amounts of cash at his home - agents seized $599,000 in cash
from his home and a narcotics bureau truck.

O'Connell said agents also seized five guns from his truck, including two
that he was authorized to use while working as a narcotics agent.

While Parker was accused of planning the theft, agents allege his
half-brother, George Michael Ruelas, 40, actually carried the cocaine out
of the evidence locker.

Ruelas, who worked for the California Highway Patrol, was indicted last
month on a charge of possession with intent to distribute the cocaine. His
trial is set for trial Feb. 29 in Los Angeles.

Ruelas's former Highway Patrol partner, Michael Wilcox, has cooperated with
investigators since his indictment. He told investigators that Parker and
Ruelas approached him in 1991 with the idea of establishing a team that
would steal narcotics and money from drug dealers.

Wilcox also implicated James Tracy Strickler, a 22-year veteran of the Pima
County Sheriff's Department, in two small robberies that occurred in the
early 1990s. He apparently is not linked to the July 4, 1997, cocaine theft.

Strickler was arrested Dec. 15 as he arrived at work, and fired earlier
this month after offering his resignation. Accused of conspiring with
intent to distribute cocaine, he spent a day in custody after posting
$115,000 bond. No court date has been set.

Strickler and his attorney have declined comment. Ruelas also worked for
the Sheriff's Department for a few years.

Parker's attorney has asked the court that the former lawman be imprisoned
in Massachusetts for his safety. O'Connell said prosecutors have provided
evidence that the Federal Bureau of Prisons can safely house Parker.