CONTRA COSTA EX-NARCOTICS COP PLEADS NOT GUILTY

OAKLAND -- A former drug task force commander in Contra Costa County
sobbed and wiped away tears Monday as he pleaded not guilty to drug
and corruption charges, offenses that could carry a life sentence if
he is convicted.

Norman Wielsch, 50, was ordered freed on bail after agreeing in
Oakland federal court to undergo a psychiatric evaluation within three
days to determine whether he is suicidal. His father posted his
$100,000 bail.

Wielsch is a former narcotics agent with the state Department of
Justice who, until earlier this year, was commander of the multiagency
Central Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement Team. He was arrested by
federal agents at his Antioch home last week after a grand jury
indicted him and former Concord private investigator Christopher Butler.

The men are charged with stealing methamphetamine and marijuana from
police evidence lockers to sell, robbing prostitutes of cash and cell
phones during phony sting operations, and operating a brothel in
Pleasant Hill that fronted as a massage parlor.

The 17-count indictment also alleges the men conducted a phony drug
bust of a Danville teenager, falsely detained him and stole his narcotics.

Butler, 50, pleaded not guilty Friday and was released after his
father secured a $1 million bond.

In Oakland on Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Hemann told
Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler that his office considered Wielsch's
suicide risk "sufficiently grave" and requested a psychological
assessment as a condition of his release on bail.

If Wielsch's psychologist finds him to be a threat to himself, he
could be returned to supervised custody.

During his arraignment, Wielsch repeatedly broke into sobs as the
judge read the charges to his elderly father, Ernest Wielsch, who
agreed to secure the bail amount.

After the judge asked the elder Wielsch if he understood he was
financially liable if his son violates bail conditions, the father
asked, "Could you be lenient on my son? He's been good."

Outside the courtroom, Norman Wielsch's attorney, Michael Cardoza,
said his client has been meeting regularly with a psychologist.

"They're worried that a cop, in his position and facing the
embarrassment he's brought upon himself and his family would, as they
say in the business, eat his gun," Cardoza said. "While he is
embarrassed, it is not a real concern."

Wielsch and Butler are scheduled to appear in federal court Sept. 6.