FEDERAL AND LOCAL DRUG, ROBBERY INVESTIGATIONS FOCUS ON TWO LAPD OFFICERS

Two police officers are being investigated for allegedly committing a
series of armed robberies, stealing narcotics and money from drug
dealers.

Authorities believe Officer Ruben Palomares, who was arrested in June
in San Diego for the crimes, was partners with fellow Officer William
Ferguson. Investigators liken the alleged crime duo's activities to
those of Rafael Perez and Nino Durden, the former LAPD officers whose
arrests launched the Rampart scandal.

Anonymous law enforcement sources have told the Los Angeles Times
that other officers, both from within the LAPD and outside agencies,
are also being investigated, but they declined to provide details.

Both Palomares, 32, and Ferguson, 29, have been suspended without
pay. Their attorneys have denied the allegations against their
clients. To date, neither man has been charged with the alleged
rip-offs.

"I think they're out there pounding the pavement, chasing ghosts,"
said Ferguson's attorney Robert Rico. Palomares' attorney declined
comment.

The investigation was launched in June after Palomares was arrested
in San Diego for allegedly trying to buy 10 kilograms of cocaine from
undercover agents.

One of the men arrested in that sting, Alvin Moon, 26, confessed to
investigators he accompanied Palomares on other crimes, including the
attempted robbery of a drug dealer and a Huntington Park murder, the
Times said.

Moon picked Ferguson out of a lineup and told police Ferguson helped
Palomares steal from drug dealers.

Palomares is currently in custody in San Diego awaiting trial.
Ferguson was relieved of duty without pay more than a year ago
pending an internal disciplinary investigation into unrelated
misconduct charges.

Police Commission President Rick Caruso said the allegations against
the pair "angered and troubled" him.

"The investigation is going to take us wherever it needs to take us.
My biggest concern right now is to make sure (LAPD detectives) have
all the resources they need to fully investigate this and get to the
bottom of it," Caruso said.

Earlier this month, Moon pleaded guilty in federal court in
connection with the San Diego cocaine deal. His attorney, Jeremy
Warren, declined comment on whether Moon is cooperating with
authorities.

Palomares also is the subject of a separate FBI investigation, which
is examining his role in the 1998 shooting of an alleged drug dealer.

Former Officer Rafael Perez, the key figure in the LAPD's Rampart
scandal, told investigators that the shooting was unjustified and
covered up. Perez told of alleged corruption in the Rampart station
as part of a plea agreement to reduce his sentence for stealing
cocaine from police evidence lockers.