Deputy in Drug Money Case Faces Tax Counts
A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, convicted of a single count in the drug money-skimming trial of seven narcotics officers, was indicted Thursday on additional criminal charges including tax evasion.
A federal grand jury indicted Macario M. Duran, 44, and his wife, Maria, 41, for allegedly filing a false tax return in 1988 that “did not include substantial unreported taxable income.” The couple, along with Maria Duran’s mother, Lilia Vazquez, was also charged with lying before a grand jury probing money-skimming allegations against narcotics deputies who once worked together to investigate major drug traffickers.
In the first trial, six of the deputies were convicted of conspiracy for stealing money during drug raids. Macario Duran was convicted of circumventing bank reporting requirements to conceal large cash deposits. The new indictment brings the total number of counts against the Durans and Vasquez to seven.
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