Pubdate: Sat, 01 Mar 2003 Source: San Antonio Express-News (TX) Copyright: 2003 San Antonio Express-News Contact: http://www.mysanantonio.com/expressnews/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/384 Author: Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/rampart Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption - United States) LAPD CHIEF RESURRECTS COP CORRUPTION SCANDAL LOS ANGELES -- The police corruption scandal that has cost the city $40 million in legal settlements flared up again this week. The new chief ordered an outside investigation, and newly reported testimony suggested that corrupt officers are still on the beat. Police Chief William Bratton, who took office in October, criticized an internal review of the scandal as unacceptably flawed, and he called for an independent probe of the allegations that officers planted guns and drugs, lied under oath, and shot unarmed suspects. The Rampart scandal, named for the gang-infested section of the city where it originated, led to judges overturning convictions or tossing out charges in about 100 cases. It broke in 1999 after former officer Rafael Perez was arrested for stealing cocaine from an evidence locker and talked about a 1996 case in which officers shot and paralyzed a man. Some 70 officers were investigated, and nine, including Perez and his former partner, Nino Durden, have been prosecuted. Both men are in prison. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk