LOS ANGELES COUNTY : 2 Ex-Deputies Plead Guilty to Stealing Drug Money
Two former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies have pleaded guilty to felony charges of stealing money seized in narcotics busts.
Robert Karl Clark, 45, of Glendora, and Paul Rapisarda, 50, of La Palma, entered their guilty pleas this week before U.S. District Judge Harry L. Hupp. The two became the 20th and 21st former deputies convicted under an ongoing investigation by the Big Spender Task Force, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Stefan Stein.
The task force, made up of officials from the FBI, IRS and Sheriff’s Department, is looking into the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars in captured drug profits by deputies connected with the sheriff’s Major Violators drug-enforcement teams from 1987 to 1989, Stein said.
“The teams routinely came upon large amounts of currency during their investigations, and what we discovered was a large drug money-skimming operation,” Stein said.
Sentencing for the two will be in late September and early October, he said. Clark faces a maximum sentence of 20 years and $500,000 in fines. Rapisarda faces a maximum of 23 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.
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