Extradition Ordered for Ex-Mexican Police Chief

Former Mexico City Police Chief Arturo Durazo, who has become a symbol to Mexicans of corruption in officialdom, was ordered by a U.S. magistrate in Los Angeles to be returned to Mexico to stand trial on extortion and illegal weapons charges.

The 38-page ruling by Magistrate Volney V. Brown Jr. was eagerly awaited by the administration of Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid, who promised a campaign of “moral renovation” to end corruption in government when he took office in December, 1982.

“Naturally, we’re overjoyed,” an aide to Mexican Atty. Gen. Sergio Garcia Ramirez said in a telephone interview from his Mexico City office. “These are serious charges, and he (Durazo) must be returned to Mexico to face up to them.”

Top Priority

Durazo, 68, is one of the very few high-ranking officials in the administration of former Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo to be sought for trial, and his extradition had become a top priority for Mexican authorities.

Appointed to the Mexico City police chief’s post by Lopez Portillo, a childhood friend, Durazo is accused by Mexican authorities of extortion and taking bribes from subordinates and illegal stockpiling of weapons during his tenure between 1976 and 1982.

Mexican authorities charge that Durazo became a wealthy man through the extortion and bribes. His opulent mansion outside of Mexico City, equipped with stables, disco, dog track and collection of vintage automobiles, was confiscated and opened to the public by Mexican authorities as a “museum of corruption.”

His police chief’s salary was equivalent to less than $1,000 a month, Mexican investigators pointed out.

Durazo, who fled Mexico, was arrested as he tried to sneak into the United States aboard a private jet at Puerto Rico’s international airport in October, 1984, authorities said. He has been under 24-hour protective custody at an undisclosed location in the Los Angeles area.

In his ruling, Brown said Durazo may be extradited on the illegal weapons and extortion charges in accordance with an extradition treaty signed by the United States and Mexico in 1978.

However, he may not be extradited on the charge of illegally possessing imported goods, the magistrate ruled.

“Since the mere possession of foreign goods, without documentation, and not for one’s personal use is not culpable in the United States, the general (Durazo) may not be extradited on the equivalent of the smuggling charges,” Brown’s ruling said.

Several Men

During hearings that began in March, allegations of extortion came primarily from several men who Durazo put in charge of various law enforcement branches under his control.

The head of a police licensing bureau said he was ordered to turn over 10,000 Mexican pesos a week to a man, who, in turn, gave the money to Durazo, according to Assistant U.S. Atty. J. Stephen Czuleger.

Other bureaus had weekly quotas of 25,000 pesos, he said.

The magistrate concluded in his ruling that there is probable cause to believe that Durazo was involved in the alleged schemes.

“Those involved believed and were told that the general (Durazo) was responsible,” Brown’s ruling said. “He had the means and the authority to accomplish the extortion.”

Brown also ruled that Durazo is extraditable on the illegal stockpiling charge. Heavy-caliber rifles, pistols and machine guns were found by Mexican authorities in a home and a warehouse owned by Durazo.

“The weapons in this instance . . . would reasonably alert one to the necessity of registering them,” the ruling said.

Durazo was disappointed when he was told of the magistrate’s ruling Friday morning, according to one of his lawyers, Jerrold Ladar of San Francisco.

Count Dropped

“But he was glad that the one count was dropped,” said Ladar, who pointed out that because the charge was dismissed in the United States, Durazo cannot be tried on it in Mexico.

Durazo’s attorneys have opposed extradition on several grounds. They say there is no direct evidence linking Durazo to the alleged extortion schemes.

They cited, for example, the sworn statement of a retired Mexican army general who had been a key witness against Durazo. In a sworn statement given last month, Raul Perez Arceo recanted earlier accusations against the former police chief, claiming that the charges were “absolutely false.”

Perez Arceo said he made the accusations out of fear that he would be jailed if he did not do so.

Durazo’s attorneys also believe that Durazo would not get a fair trial if he is returned to Mexico.

Review Expected

The magistrate’s ruling is expected to be reviewed by a federal judge in Los Angeles, but it is not clear when that will occur, Czuleger said. If the extradition ruling is upheld, the case will be forwarded to the U.S. State Department, he said.