DOUBTS CAST ON POLICE INTERNAL PROBES

Six years ago, the Chicago police had a chance to see if Joseph J.
Miedzianowski, a longtime gang crimes specialist, really was corrupt,
as some were alleging.

Two federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
who worked with Miedzianowski made a formal complaint to Chicago
police that he was stealing from drug dealers--the same allegations
federal prosecutors made on Wednesday when they arrested
Miedzianowski.

But Chicago internal affairs detectives say they could not
substantiate those allegations, although they spent close to a year
investigating the charges and completed a 1,000-page report.

The ATF agents making the charges were a husband and wife, Diane
Klipfel and Mike Casali, who went on to sue Miedzianowski and ATF.

They declined to comment Thursday, but their lawyer, Sally Saltzberg,
said: "For years Diane Klipfel and Mike Casali have been branded as
liars. And yesterday they were completely vindicated."

They have not, however, been vindicated in court. Their federal civil
suit, claiming mistreatment by ATF and by Miedzianowski, continues to
wind its way through the system.

Still, Miedzianowski's arrest raises questions about the completeness
of internal Chicago police investigations, and it underscores the
difficulty in rooting out corrupt officers.

Police Supt. Terry Hillard said Wednesday that he would order a review
of the internal affairs division investigation initiated by the ATF
agents and of other complaints against Miedzianowski that passed
through IAD in the 1990s.

But as in many cases, the review may stalemate. Lawyers who have dealt
with IAD inquiries say the unwritten rule is that "He said, she said"
cases are not prosecuted.

Gene Karczewski, who as a lieutenant in IAD investigated
Miedzianowski, said the probe was thorough. "By the time we were
through, after a year or longer, the allegations were not sustained,"
he said.

"Really, that investigation was a nightmare," added Karczewski, who in
January 1996 became the chief of the west suburban Riverside Police
Department. "It was a tough case because, honestly, who do you believe?"

According to the lawsuit, Klipfel asked that Miedzianowski and his
partner, John Galligan, be assigned to a task force that she was heading.

But after a raid on a drug dealer, Klipfel told her supervisors that
Miedzianowski and another officer had stolen from the suspect.

Klipfel's charge against Miedzianowski set off a flurry of other
accusations. Miedzianowski and others accused Klipfel of stealing, and
Klipfel charged that Miedzianowski threatened to kill her and her children.

Klipfel and Casali also charged that ATF officials retaliated against
them for what they considered whistle-blowing. The couple were fired
but appealed to an administrative board. After Casali won his case,
the ATF reached a settlement with the two that allowed Casali to
return to work while Klipfel did not.

In January 1993, a directive from ATF headquarters in Washington,
D.C., ordered Miedzianowski and Galligan sent back to the Police
Department, according to the lawsuit.

Police spokesman Patrick Camden would not comment on the internal
investigation or make any of the supervisors available for interviews.

But Karczewski said internal investigators got the case in early 1993.
IAD tried to investigate, Karczewski said, but it received no
cooperation from ATF.

He said internal investigators met with some ATF agents on their own

and, in many instances, heard negative comments about Klipfel and Casali.

Karczewski said that IAD investigators even met with Juan Martir, whom
federal prosecutors named Wednesday as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Miedzianowski is alleged to have taken over the ring from Martir.

Saltzberg said she believed the investigation was compromised.

"We think that there was corruption in the investigation," said
Saltzberg. "Miedzianowski knew everything that was going on at IAD."

Besides naming Miedzianowski, Klipfel and Casali's federal lawsuit
names other ATF agents and another city police officer, Michael Byrne.

Byrne, as well as his partner, Walter Smith, were assigned to the
narcotics section but sometimes worked with Miedzianowski and Galligan.

Miedzianowski and 11 people alleged to be gang members and drug
dealers were charged Wednesday in a federal criminal complaint with
taking part in a drug conspiracy that trafficked in more than 100
kilograms of cocaine and heroin.

Sources have said federal agents are continuing the investigation of
Miedzianowski and are focusing on other Chicago officers who worked
with ATF. A source close to the case said that Miedzianowski had been
under investigation for some time but that the authorities were
waiting for the "right opportunity" to finish the case--and having
difficulty investigating a police officer.

Wiretaps on Miedzianowski's telephones provided a last piece of
evidence, one that authorities are confident will help their
prosecution.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady