FBI AGENT TESTIFIES AT MARIJUANA STING TRIAL

It was an unusual sight for a relatively minor drug trial: an FBI agent,
accompanied by an attorney.

But Special Agent Gabe Scala had important business in the Hackensack
courtroom Monday, enough to command the presence of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's top lawyer in Newark.

Taking the stand, Scala contradicted statements a New Jersey State Police
trooper made about him in court last week -- specifically, that Scala had
asked the police not to mention the FBI in reports about the arrest of Angel
Guerrero.

Who's lying?

Guerrero's fate could hinge on the answer.

The dispute dates to April 2, 1997, when state troopers arrested Guerrero,
46, on the New Jersey Turnpike in Ridgefield shortly after the New York man
left the Vince Lombardi rest stop.

In the trunk of Guerrero's car, authorities say, was a 45-pound cache of
marijuana. Guerrero was charged with second-degree possession with intent to
distribute the drug and third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous
substance. The second-degree charge is punishable by up to 10 years in
prison.

Circumstances of the arrest are murky, however.

Reports filed by the troopers who arrested Guerrero indicate that he was
pulled over because he was following another car too closely.

The reports also mention a confidential informant, but little more.

Guerrero was scheduled to come to trial this week in Hackensack. Those plans
were shelved Monday, however, after a week of hearings about the arrest in
the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Donald R. Venezia.

Under questioning by defense attorney Miles Feinstein, the State Police
officers involved in the arrest said the FBI forwarded information about
Guerrero to them.

Such a development is not unusual. Federal authorities frequently pass along
information, especially when the arrest is of too small a scale to warrant
their involvement. In this case, the FBI was investigating a larger drug
ring when it received information about Guerrero, said Assistant Bergen
County Prosecutor Mark Dispoto.

What is unusual, however, is what happened next.

The State Police officer in charge of the inquiry, Sgt. Roseann Manghisi,
testified last week that Scala asked her to keep any mention of the FBI out
of the investigation.

The FBI was never mentioned in the reports, Dispoto said.

But in court Monday, Feinstein said the FBI provided him with a surveillance
report that says agents actually sold the marijuana to Guerrero in an
apparent sting attempt.

Scala appeared in court Monday to answer the allegations made by Manghisi.
Accompanying the agent was Steven Carlotto, the FBI's chief general counsel
in Newark.

Under questioning from Feinstein, Scala said he had no recollection of the
Guerrero arrest or of a larger-scale FBI probe. Scala said he knows Manghisi
and has spoken to her by phone but could not recall whether he discussed the
Guerrero arrest with her.

Scala then said he has never made, nor would he ever make, such a request to
any law enforcement officer.

The statement prompted Feinstein to say that "clearly, clearly contradictory
testimony" had been offered.

"The State Police perjured themselves," Feinstein said, asking that the
matter be referred to the state Attorney General's Office.

Venezia, in turn, signed an order seeking more information from the FBI
about the investigation, including testimony from about six agents.

Venezia, a state judge, has no authority to compel the federal bureau to
testify or provide further material. He does have the authority to declare
that the lack of cooperation is a detriment to the case against Guerrero. In
light of this possibility, Feinstein is expected to file a motion to dismiss
the indictment.

Carlotto, the FBI lawyer, would not say anything in court about the probe or
about the agency's desire to help further. He said the FBI "has bent over
backwards" to provide material, including the surveillance report Feinstein
cited.

"I strongly object to any accusations of stonewalling or conspiracy,"
Carlotto said, responding to Feinstein's animated objections.