Sobel Drops Objections to Reports by FBI

Former Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Robert R. Sobel, whose testimony nearly triggered a mistrial in a civil rights case involving six Los Angeles County narcotics officers, returned to the witness stand Tuesday and acknowledged the accuracy of FBI reports that he had previously questioned.

Sobel, the chief prosecution witness in the corruption case, had questioned the accuracy of the reports of his interviews with FBI agents. Sobel said he would accept the agents’ version even though he insisted there were still errors in the report. “I don’t have any choice. I’m accepting this by default,” said Sobel, who was cross-examined by defense attorney Larry Bakman about inconsistencies between his court testimony and the FBI reports.

The disclosure that FBI agents had allowed Sobel to correct his interview reports before destroying drafts of the documents had prompted a federal judge to tentatively declare a mistrial. But the judge rescinded his ruling last week.