POLICE ARREST MAN IN KILLING OF MEXICAN TV STAR

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) - An alleged lieutenant from one of Mexico's most
feared drug cartels has been arrested in the June 7 killing of television
star Francisco "Paco" Stanley, the newspaper El 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 ordered 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 dinner 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.

The report did not mention any possible link between the arrested man and
Bezares, who played the role of Stanley's comic sidekick on TV and has been
held under house arrest in a downtown Mexico City hotel for nearly a month
without being formally charged.

REUTERS