2 Former Deputies Charged by U.S. : Narcotics: Both ex-officers are accused by federal officials of taking part in skimming of drug money.

A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury and an ex-deputy was named in another criminal complaint for their alleged roles in skimming drug money while investigating narcotics cases in the late 1980s.

Thomas Gordon, 43, was indicted on money-laundering and tax fraud charges for allegedly using stolen drug money in 1987 to invest in his San Dimas home and then lying about the money on his income tax return.

Gordon, an ex-sergeant on one of the sheriff’s elite anti-drug squads known as majors teams, could not be reached for comment. He retired last September after 21 years with the department.

Former Deputy Julian Castorena, 39, of Fontana was charged Wednesday with conspiracy to steal government funds after federal prosecutors said Castorena received two suitcases in 1988 filled with skimmed drug money that he hid in his patrol car before returning the stolen cash to other unnamed deputies.

Prosecutors said Castorena later received $10,000 in $20 bills for his role in the thefts.

Contacted at his home, Castorena declined to comment on the charges. His attorney could not be reached for comment.

Federal prosecutors said Castorena, who worked as a deputy in the Norwalk station before leaving the department last month, is the first officer to be charged in the Operation Big Spender investigation who did not work on a majors team or on a special anti-drug task force.

“He was part of a station crew that assisted the majors teams when they had lots of search warrants to do,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Steven M. Bauer, who added that investigators are looking at others who had worked on the Norwalk crew.

Castorena, a 15-year veteran, was not indicted by the grand jury but was charged with conspiracy through a separate complaint known as “an information” filing, in which a defendant waives an indictment and agrees to be charged with a crime. In most cases, such a procedure indicates a defendant’s decision to cooperate with prosecutors.

But neither Bauer nor Castorena would comment on whether the ex-deputy is assisting investigators.

The felony complaints are the latest in a series of state and federal indictments that have been filed against more than two dozen ex-narcotics officers during the Big Spender investigation.

Since the money-skimming scandal broke three years ago, more than 30 deputies have been suspended and the Sheriff’s Department’s majors teams have been disbanded. Twelve defendants--including the spouse of one narcotics officer--have been convicted of federal charges. Another six officers and the brother-in-law of another deputy have been acquitted of various charges stemming from the money-skimming investigation.