VETERAN CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER CHARGED IN DRUG RING

A Chicago police gang crimes specialist appeared in court today to answer
charges that he has been running a Miami-to-Chicago cocaine and heroin
operation over the last three years.

Eleven other suspects, none of them police officers, also were charged in
the case.

The officer, Joseph J. Miedzianowski, a 22-year police veteran, is accused
of using his police powers to protect the drug trafficking operation in
return for cash payments -- some as large as $12,000 a month, according to
the complaint.

Miedzianowski, wearing jeans and a black T-shirt with a skull emblazoned on
the back, appeared this afternoon before U.S. District Judge Martin C. Ashman.

He was led into the courtroom in handcuffs, which later were removed.

The government also alleges that Miedzianowski made death threats to
prevent the co-conspirators from talking about the drug operation.

Miedzianowski, 45, was arrested today when he reported to work at a West
Side police station.

Authorities said Miedzianowski supervised the cocaine- and heroin-selling
scheme and provided protection for it.

But an attorney for Miedzianowski said his client's close ties to drug
dealers were simply part of his job.

"To be a successful police officer, you have to have relationships with
these people," said Phillip A. Turner, the attorney. "And sometimes you
have to play along with them."

He added, "Mr. Miedzianowski is completely surprised by this. He's shocked.
Joe is innocent of these allegations."

Chicago Police Internal Affairs Division officers and FBI agents today
executed six search warrants and made 10 arrests in the case. Two suspects
named in the complaint are still being sought by police.

Police used phone taps to investigate the alleged drug ring, officials
said. In one phone conversation, the indictment says, Miedzianowski
promised a dealer that he would keep police away from an area that had
heavy drug traffic.

The indictment alleges that one drug dealer offered Miedzianowski $12,000 a
month for protection, and another offered him $10,000 a month. It also
states that Miedzianowski gave guns that had been stolen from a Cook County
sheriff's shooting range to the dealers.

The 12 suspects are charged in a federal complaint with conspiracy to
possess and distribute cocaine and heroin from 1995 to the present.

"The community-police department partnership is based on mutual trust,"
Chicago Police Supt. Terry Hillard said. "When that trust is breached,
corrective measures must be swift, direct and have impact."

George Figueroa, another gang investigation specialist who has worked with
Miedzianowski for at least 12 years, said he was shocked when he heard
about the complaint.

"He's great guy," said Figueroa, who was at home recovering from surgery.
"He's one of the best policemen I've ever worked with, and we were on the
same team together. He's smart. He has a lot of informants."

He said when he heard about the complaint, he "thought it was a joke."

If convicted of the drug-distribution conspiracy, each defendant faces a
mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of
life in prison without parole, as well as a maximum fine of $4 million.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan