HUNTINGTON BEACH : 2 Indicted in Probe of False Tax Filings

Two former law enforcement officers, one of them a Huntington Beach resident, were indicted by a federal grand jury Monday on charges of making a false statement in their 1987 federal income tax return, according to officials with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The indictment alleges that Stephen W. Polak, 45, a former Los Angeles police officer who now lives in Huntington Beach, and his former wife, Christina Townley, 39, a former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, lied on their 1987 federal income tax return, according to a statement issued by Assistant U.S. Atty. Mark A. Byrne.

According to the indictment, the total income reported on the return allegedly was substantially lower than the couple’s actual total income for 1987, said Byrne, who is handling the prosecution.

Neither Polak nor Townley, who lives in Lakewood, could be reached for comment.

The case is part of an ongoing investigation by the “Big Spender Task Force,” an anti-corruption unit composed of agents from the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Byrne said in a prepared statement.

The Big Spender investigation has resulted in the conviction of 21 former sheriff’s deputies on various charges, including theft of narcotics proceeds and false statements on tax returns, the statement said.

Polak and Townley each face a maximum sentence of three years in prison and $100,000 in fines. They are scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Los Angeles on May 2.