LAPD INVESTIGATION REVEALS 'CRASH PAD'

Report Says Officers Partied With Prostitutes

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Police rented an apartment for on-duty sexual liasons
with prostitutes who were enlisted to sell drugs officers stole from
dealers, according to a report Friday on the widening police corruption scandal.

The one-bedroom apartment near the Rampart station was described as a "crash
pad" where officers partied like fraternity boys and had sex with
girlfriends and hookers, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The new allegations come as the LAPD investigation is expanding.

The probe has already resulted in the release of one man from prison after
the district attorney said he was framed.

Police Lt. Sharyn Buck, who also declined to discuss the allegations, did
say the police department's investigation was moving forward.

Lt. Dan Hoffman, a supervisor in charge of investigating officer-involved
shootings, detailed the allegations during a briefing for a group of
specialized-unit LAPD officers.

The LAPD also believes Rampart officers stole drugs from drug dealers and
then recruited prostitutes to sell them for the officers' profit, Hoffman
said, noting the officers were acting like the gangs they were supposed to
be policing.

Many of the allegations involving the Rampart station come from ex-Officer
Rafael Perez, who is cooperating with the probe in exchange for a reduced
sentence on his cocaine theft conviction.