Judge Drops 26 Remaining Charges in Corruption Case Against 7 Deputies

A federal judge Thursday dismissed more than two dozen criminal charges against seven Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies already convicted of stealing seized drug money and laundering cash.

At the request of prosecutors, U.S. District Judge Edward Rafeedie dropped 26 remaining charges against the narcotics officers who were convicted Dec. 10 in one of the department’s worst corruption scandals.

The jury convicted the deputies on 25 charges of conspiracy, theft, tax evasion, racketeering and money laundering but failed to reach verdicts on 26 other counts ranging from additional thefts to extortion.

“We asked the judge to dismiss the counts where the jurors could not agree in the interest of justice,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Thomas A. Hagemann.

“I think that was the correct thing to do,” said defense lawyer Terrence A. Roden, who represents Macario M. Duran.

Attorney Jay Lichtman said his client, Ronald E. Daub, and other convicted deputies probably will seek a new trial or challenge some of the guilty verdicts in a court hearing next month.

Along with Daub and Duran, deputies Terrell H. Amers, James R. Bauder, Eufrasio G. Cortez, John C. Dickenson and Daniel M. Garner also were convicted after the seven-week trial. The suspended deputies, who are now expected to be fired, had participated in some of the county’s largest cocaine and money seizures.

The deputies face prison terms ranging from a maximum of five years for Duran--the only deputy not convicted of conspiracy--to 53 years for Cortez. The deputies are scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 25.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, the convicted deputies can face varying prison terms, depending on how much money was stolen during the conspiracy. Prosecutors alleged that the deputies had skimmed more than $1.4 million, but the jury convicted them in connection with only one theft: the $48,000 taken during a videotaped FBI sting operation.