Pubdate: Thu, 07 Dec 2000
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2000 Houston Chronicle
Contact:  Viewpoints Editor, P.O. Box 4260 Houston, Texas 77210-4260
Fax: (713) 220-3575
Website: http://www.chron.com/
Forum: http://www.chron.com/content/hcitalk/index.html
Author: Jo Ann Zuniga

DEA AGENT GRILLED IN RAP-A-LOT CASE

House Panel Eyes Perjury Charges Against Houston Task-Force Leader

WASHINGTON -- A House committee threatened a federal official in Houston 
with possible prosecution Wednesday over inconsistencies between his 
testimony and evidence that political pressure halted an investigation of a 
rap music promoter.

Ernest Howard, special agent-in-charge of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration in Houston, received the brunt of the ire of the Committee 
on Government Reform, which also questioned two other DEA agents and three 
Houston police officers.

The investigation involved James A. Prince, founder and president of the 
Rap-A-Lot recording company, and his associates concerning allegations of 
drug trafficking and police corruption.

"I want you to be very clear about this," committee chairman Dan Burton, 
R-Ind., sternly told Howard. "We will send charges to the new Justice 
Department after Jan. 1, and prosecution can take place" if any perjury is 
found.

Howard replied, "I am not trying to mislead you," explaining that he had 
only temporarily suspended a drug investigation to protect a task force 
from allegations of racial profiling.

The task force of DEA agents and Houston Police Department narcotics 
officers was formed in 1998 to investigate alleged drug activity involving 
Houston-based Rap-A-Lot Records and Prince.

Prince complained to U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., of racial profiling 
and harassment after task-force members arrested several of his associates, 
netting 20 convictions, including at least two executive-level employees of 
Rap-A-Lot, according to testimony.

In a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno in August 1999, Waters said 
Prince could be a victim of DEA harassment.

Within days, Howard told the task force to disband, according to the 
testimony of the former lead investigator on the case, DEA agent Jack 
Schumacher.

"It was a multistep process," Schumacher said. "The letter came in. We were 
told about it. A DEA OPR (Office of Professional Responsibility) 
investigation was launched (against the task force), and Mrs. Waters was 
actively pursuing and advocating these allegations."

Howard sent several e-mails to DEA officials in Washington complaining that 
the agency was "bowing down" to political pressure.

Howard wrote in an e-mail March 14 that "we are closing our case on 
Prince," but he told the committee Wednesday he was only "venting" his 
frustration to his superiors in hopes of getting a quick response of support.

Committee members also questioned the timing of a March 12 visit to Houston 
by Vice President Al Gore.

Gore made a campaign stop at a church where Prince is a contributing 
member, and Schumacher claimed "third-hand" information was that Prince 
donated more than $200,000 to Gore's presidential campaign.

Schumacher was transferred to a desk job within three days of Gore's visit. 
Gore's office has insisted he has had no connection with the investigation.

A spokesman for Prince who wished to remain anonymous said Prince has never 
met or communicated with Gore or made any contribution to him.

"Prince is more community-conscious than politically conscious," the 
spokesman said, describing a Christmas party Prince will sponsor for 500 
children in the Fifth Ward, a low-income, inner-city neighborhood that 
Prince is from.

Regarding the Gore allegation, Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., cautioned 
Schumacher to "separate facts from speculation."

"There is no evidence that Vice President Gore has discussed this case with 
anybody," Waxman said. "There is no evidence that he received a 
contribution from anyone involved in this."

Waxman also defended Waters' questioning the investigation, saying her 
commitment against racial profiling by law enforcement is well-known 
nationally.

Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., retorted, "This investigation is not about 
Vice President Gore but about why this investigation stopped, why these 
officers and agents risked their lives every day to have the case taken 
away from them. It's an outrage."

HPD narcotics officers Bill Stephens, Ralph Chaison and Larry Allen also 
testified that Howard told them the investigation was being stopped 
"because of political pressure."

They said the probe was entering a second phase that went past drug 
trafficking and into police corruption and murder cases.

"We started to break the stranglehold Rap-A-Lot had on the Fifth Ward," 
Stephens said.

"We were starting to infiltrate his (Prince's) organization," Chaison 
testified. "The pressure was on.

"I'm black. I'm just as black as any black person, and I would not allow 
any racial profiling done in my presence."

Prince, Waters, Howard and two of the officers in the investigation are 
also black.

Chaison and Allen said they read in Jet magazine on the flight to 
Washington that a rap recording, produced by Prince's company and that 
cursed and threatened DEA agents and police, had risen from No. 16 to No. 7 
on the charts in a week.

"One of his artists composed songs that bragged about getting DEA agents 
replaced and taking officers off the streets" and specified DEA agents 
Schumacher and Chad Scott by name, Chaison said.

Rapper Brad "Scarface" Jordan, in his CD Last of a Dying Breed, raps about 
killing anyone who gives information to police and claims DEA agents 
probing "the Rap-A-Lot mafia" were trying to set up Prince and his associates.

Prince has said he is innocent of any illegal behavior and has been 
subjected to "Gestapo-type" behavior by investigators.

Committee members, curious about the CD recording, had staff purchase a 
copy, and part of the profanity-laced song Look into My Eyes was played.

The angry lyrics rang out in the wood-paneled, high-ceiling hearing room, 
"Do you think I'm crazy? ... Schumacher's been chasing me. F--- DEA!"

Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio, said, "Kids in Houston, teen-agers and 
children across the country are listening to it saying it's all right to 
dis the DEA and threaten lives."

The committee will resume its hearing today, recalling Howard and other 
witnesses. DEA Administrator Donnie Marshall is to testify this afternoon.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom