DRUG DEALER SEEN AS PAWN IN POLICE CORRUPTION PROBE

A convicted drug dealer faces up to a quarter-century behind bars in a
case his lawyer says is probably motivated by federal prosecutors'
interest in a list of Boston-area police officers who attended illegal
after-hours parties that are key to an ongoing corruption
investigation.

Matthew West was convicted Thursday of selling cocaine at the parties
to a confidential police informant, Troy Lozano. Lozano is expected to
be the star witness against three Boston officers arrested by the FBI
last year on charges of protecting what the officers believed to be
large shipments of cocaine.

Lozano testified this week at West's trial that he saw uniformed
officers at the bashes, including Cambridge police officers. Lozano,
who said he has been paid about $100,000 in living and relocation
stipends in the three years he worked for the government, also
testified that his federal handlers wanted to know the identities of
officers at the parties.

So far, no other police officers have been arrested or publicly
identified as having attended the parties, which prosecutors say were
frequented by drug dealers and strippers.

Timothy R. Flaherty, West's lawyer, said that West is caught up in the
government's quest to identify and prosecute corrupt police officers.

"He became embroiled in this investigation because he was selected by
the government . . . because he was the person in their view, I
suspect, in the best position to know who attended the parties,"
Flaherty said in an interview.

"People can draw their own conclusions as to why Matt West is being
accused of a very insignificant narcotics violation for the federal
district, but one inescapable fact in people's assessment of the
government's motivation here must be that they are interested in the
identities of any police officers, elected officials, or any other
public official that they suspect might have attended these parties."

Flaherty said West, 37, has never cooperated with authorities. In his
closing argument, prosecutor John T. McNeil said that FBI agents
visited West's home a month after Roberto Pulido, the alleged
ringleader of the drug protection scheme and a childhood friend of
Lozano's, was arrested to try to persuade him to help in the case.

Samantha Martin, a spokeswoman for US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan's
office, declined to comment yesterday. A statement issued by Sullivan,
however, hailed West's conviction.

"The guilty verdict in this case is a testament to the hard work of
the FBI and the Boston Police Department's Anti-Corruption unit," said
Sullivan. "The three year effort . . . reveals our collective
commitment to vigorously prosecute public corruption -- and all those
who benefit from it."

FBI Special Agent Michael Carazza testified last week that the parties
were "invite only" and that there was a VIP list for attendees.

When Flaherty asked the agent if he was concerned that the VIP list
contained names of police officers, the agent said, "The VIP list or
attendees? You know, either of those, if it involved a police officer,
yes, it would have concerned us."

The agent said he did not know if the list was written down or kept in
someone's head, though he did acknowledge he vaguely recalled Lozano
calling West on the night of a party to ask if he would be on the
list. The agent also said he did not know whether West had the list
himself.

Flaherty said FBI agents believe that West has a list, though he would
not discuss whether one exists. During his cross-examination of
Carazza, however, Flaherty suggested that a secret video recording
Lozano took of a party shows West meeting Lozano at the entrance and
checking a list.

West was convicted of two counts of cocaine distribution, accused of
being the middleman in two drug deals involving a total of 21 grams of
cocaine, which he sold to Lozano for $750. Because West has two prior
drug convictions and has been charged in federal court, he faces
between 21 and 27 years with no possibility of parole when he is
sentenced on June 25, prosecutors said.

Flaherty said West hasn't been convicted of a crime in at least a
decade, has held a job for the past 10 years, and has a baby. "He had
a couple of scrapes when he was a kid," Flaherty said.

McNeil, the prosecutor, told the jury that the government did not need
to prove West was a large-scale drug dealer.

"It's not about whether you like that it's a federal crime to sell
$750 worth of cocaine," McNeil said. "He doesn't have to be a big-time
drug dealer. It's that simple."

Defense lawyers said that those facing federal drug charges can face
much harsher sentences than those facing state charges because of
tough sentencing guidelines.

"Cases that should really be in state court are being tried in federal
court," said Norman Zalkind, a criminal defense lawyer who works in
federal court. "They know that these defendants are weak . . . don't
have that much involvement, and they offer them cooperative deals. . .
. The feds want cooperation. They want people to plead guilty."