Possible Misconduct in Rick James Case Probed : Court: The singer reportedly got plea bargain because an employee of the D.A. allegedly gave a witness drugs.

Investigators from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office are looking into allegations that one of their colleagues supplied illegal drugs or other contraband to a jailed witness who testified against entertainer Rick James, sources close to the case said Friday.

James, a pop singer best known for his 1981 hit “Super Freak,” was sentenced Friday to five years and four months in prison after being convicted of assaulting and imprisoning a woman at the St. James Club & Hotel in West Hollywood. But under a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, James, who pleaded no contest Friday to assaulting a second woman at his Hollywood Hills home, may end up serving less than a year in a drug rehabilitation program.

According to sources familiar with the case, James was able to get that deal in part because of allegations that an employee of the district attorney’s office supplied heroin to Michelle Allen, who later testified against James. Sources also said the investigation is attempting to determine whether the employee had a sexual relationship with Allen, who was then in custody at the Sybil Brand Institute for women. Allen is serving a prison sentence for theft.

Allen, although not named as a beating victim in the complaint, took the stand to testify against James on Aug. 27. In her testimony, she alleged that James pushed her and broke her arm when she asked to be paid for cocaine that she said she supplied to him. “He said I should just be glad that I’m partying with Rick James,” Allen testified.

Officials from the district attorney’s office would not discuss the specifics of the allegations that are under investigation, saying they were under a gag order imposed by Superior Court Judge Michael R. Hoff. Deputy Dist. Atty. Stephen L. Cooley did confirm, however, that an internal investigation is under way and that it involves what he called a peripheral matter in the James case.

James’ lawyer, Mark J. Werksman, disputed that characterization. “He tells you it’s peripheral,” Werksman said. “We’ll tell you it’s had some impact on the case, obviously.”

Cooley, the head deputy in the district attorney’s San Fernando branch, said he had tried not to let the allegations affect his recommendation for James’ sentence. “Whether it was impacted by this internal affairs matter, all I can say is that I attempted to separate that out,” he said.

Cooley said prosecutors initiated the internal investigation, and he denied that there was any wrongdoing by the attorneys in the case. Andrew Flier was the lead prosecutor in the case.

“There have been no improprieties on the part of anyone on the prosecutorial team,” Cooley said. Cooley did not address the question of possible improprieties by any other department employee.

Asked if investigators were attempting to determine whether drugs or other contraband were given to a witness in custody, Cooley responded: “That is something that is the subject of an ongoing investigation, and therefore is something that I cannot comment on.”

Werksman also declined to comment on the issue of prosecutorial misconduct, but he suggested that the district attorney’s investigation had contributed to the plea agreement with his client.

“I’m going to leave it to you to speculate on why the district attorney’s office has agreed to this phenomenal result for Mr. James,” Werksman told reporters after the sentencing.

In a later interview, Werksman continued to refuse to answer questions about the specifics of the district attorney’s investigation but added that the inquiry involves “things that may have happened by law enforcement.” He also said investigators were attempting to determine whether an employee of the district attorney’s office committed illegal acts.

The employee who is under suspicion has hired an attorney. Neither could be reached for comment Friday.

One source close to the case said prosecutors learned of the alleged improprieties shortly before Thanksgiving and immediately informed James’ lawyers, as they are obligated to do by law.

By that time, James already had gone to trial, and on Sept. 17 was convicted of three felony counts--false imprisonment, assault and furnishing cocaine. Those convictions alone could have resulted in a sentence of nearly nine years in state prison.

The same jury that found him guilty on those three counts acquitted him of three charges and deadlocked at 11 to 1 on six others, including two counts of torture. Flier had previously vowed to prosecute these unresolved charges, but all but one were dismissed Friday under the plea agreement between prosecutors and the defense. James pleaded no contest to the final count, an assault charge.

As a result of that agreement, Hoff sentenced James to five years and four months in prison, and prosecutors agreed that he may serve his time at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco. Werksman said James will be released if he successfully completes an 8 1/2-month drug treatment program at that facility.

As he was led out of the courtroom by bailiffs, James lifted his hand and flashed a V sign to family and supporters. He then turned and made the same gesture to photographers gathered in the jury box.

James is scheduled to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court on Jan. 20 for a psychological evaluation and the expected referral to the drug rehabilitation program. If another judge refuses to send James into the treatment program, Hoff will conduct another hearing Feb. 3.

James’ girlfriend, Tanya Anne Hijazi, pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon in one of the assaults involving James. She was sentenced to four years in state prison.

On Friday, her lawyer said he would be reviewing the district attorney’s investigation to see whether it warranted a new look at Hijazi’s case. “I will certainly be seeking that information to see if in any way it impacts on my client and the sentence she received,” attorney Leonard Levine said.

Times staff writer Andrea Ford contributed to this story.