LA CORRUPTION PROBE INDICATES VAST SCANDAL

LOS ANGELES — One of the largest scandals in the city's history widened
Friday as investigators took another look at a fatal 1996 shooting and
suggested that evidence in hundreds of other cases may have been tainted by
police corruption.

The Los Angeles Police Department, rocked this decade by the videotaped
beating of Rodney King and the O.J. Simpson case, hasn't had a scandal this
far-reaching since the corruption-ripe days of the 1930s.

It began with help from Rafael Perez, a 32-year-old former undercover
narcotics officer. He is revealing details of crimes on the force in
exchange for a lighter sentence after pleading guilty to stealing 8 pounds
of cocaine from a police evidence room.

"The district attorney has sent out over 200 letters to defense lawyers
saying that Officer Perez's testimony might be tainted in their case,"
Police Chief Bernard Parks told reporters Friday.

Although most of the letters went out about a year ago, the district
attorney expects defense lawyers to respond now because of the recent
publicity.

Parks and Police Commission President Gerald Chaleff also indicated Friday
they have no idea yet how widespread the scandal may be.

"We will follow the facts where they lead," Chaleff said.

So far:

Parks has suspended 10 officers and a supervisor at the city's Rampart
Station, which covers an 8-square-mile area just west of downtown that is
home to many recent immigrants from Latin America and Asia.

The U.S. Attorney's Office has announced it is investigating.

Javier Francisco Ovando, a gang member serving 23 years in prison for
assaulting officers in 1996, was freed after Perez said he helped frame the
man. Perez said he and his former partner handcuffed Ovando, shot him and
planted a gun on him. Ovando was paralyzed in the shooting.

Authorities are investigating a 1996 police raid on a building in which one
suspected gang member was killed and another wounded. Perez took part in
the raid but didn't fire his weapon. He called the shootings "dirty."

"It's a bad situation for the city and the department," Parks said. The
chief said he planned to talk with Rampart officers.