DRUG CARTEL MAY BE TIED TO TV STAR'S DEATH

MEXICO CITY -- An alleged lieutenant from one of Mexico's most feared drug
cartels has been arrested in the June 7 killing of TV star Francisco "Paco"
Stanley, the newspaper Reforma reported Thursday.

The murder of Stanley, 56, a comedian and host of several variety shows
through the years, rocked this crime-weary nation. It was stunned further
when Stanley's sidekick, Mario Bezares, was placed under house arrest in
July on suspicion of ordering the hit.

Bezares has vigorously denied the allegation.

Stanley was shot four times in the head as he sat in the passenger seat of
his car after having a late breakfast with Bezares, who was in the
restaurant's restroom when the shooting took place.

One bystander was killed and three others were injured in the attack. The
shooter and an accomplice fled on foot across a pedestrian bridge that
crosses a major highway. They then escaped in a waiting car.

Reforma newspaper on Thursday published photos of a man being arrested by
agents of the Mexico City Attorney General's Office on Wednesday. Law
enforcement officials were unavailable for comment early Thursday.

Citing unnamed sources close to the investigation, Reforma said the man,
nicknamed "El Cholo," was a lieutenant of the Amezcua brothers, dubbed the
"Kings of Methamphetamine" by U.S. authorities as the top drug cartel
smuggling crystal methamphetamine, or speed, into the United States.

"El Cholo is directly linked to the homicide and was identified as the
subject who fired the .40 caliber weapon that killed the Television Azteca
host with four shots," sources in a Mexico City prosecutor's office told
Reforma.

The suspect has yet to be formally charged, a process in which a judge
determines whether a suspect should be held in jail pending trial.