Valley Man’s Death in Baja Gets New Look

Mexican authorities have decided to reinvestigate the death of a North Hollywood welder in Baja California, raising both the hopes and fears of the victim’s brother, who believes the new search could grant permanent immunity to a police officer convicted of the killing but later freed.

Mario Amado, 29, was found face down with lacerations around his neck in the Rosarito jail on June 6, 1992. Since then, his older brother, Joe Amado of Shadow Hills, has waged a high-profile, cross-border campaign to find and punish the killer and anyone who may have covered up the crime.

After enlisting the help of a U.S. congressman and the Mexican president, Joe Amado thought he had reached a milestone when Rosarito Police Officer Jose Antonio Verduzco Flores was sentenced Jan. 13 to eight years for the killing.

But a panel of three Baja California appeals court judges overturned the ruling and freed Verduzco on May 10. They cited autopsy findings that concluded Mario Amado may have committed suicide, and accepted Verduzco’s defense that he was off duty and not in the jail when Amado died.

Under Mexican law, Verduzco cannot be a suspect in the new investigation, said Nancy LeRoy, spokeswoman for the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, which often helped Amado in his campaign.

The Mexican government has officially absolved Verduzco and “is trying to find out who really did it,” she said.

But Amado says he will hire a Mexican lawyer in an effort to bring new charges against Verduzco in a higher court. Also, he said he will try to focus the new investigation on another officer he believes assisted Verduzco in the beating and strangulation.

“There’s no way one person could be responsible for what happened to my brother,” he said. “And Verduzco’s not off the hook.”

Verduzco’s lawyer, Marco Antonio Macklis of Tijuana, did not return calls for comment regarding his client, who is free to return to the Rosarito police force.

Baja California Atty. Gen. Jose Luis Anaya Bautista notified the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana on Thursday that the case had been reopened.

Amado credited Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) and the consulate for pressing Mexican authorities to reopen the case. The congressman, who last week sent a letter beseeching Anaya to take action, said he was encouraged but not completely appeased.

“I’m not satisfied until they apprehend the guilty party and punish him appropriately,” Berman said. “But my initial request was to reopen the case and they have done that.”

LeRoy said Mexican officials rarely reopen investigations of police conduct. Human rights groups have said Verduzco’s conviction, let alone a subsequent investigation, would not have occurred without Joe Amado’s efforts.

The 53-year-old retired merchant has picketed a border crossing, commissioned independent autopsies and lobbied political figures such as Berman to take up his cause. His major breakthrough earlier was getting Berman to lobby then-Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari to inquire into the case, which led to the charge against Verduzco.

Today, Joe Amado plans to hold a news conference in front of the Mexican Consulate in downtown Los Angeles, hanging a red, white and blue banner that reads “Justice for Mario.”

“Searching for the truth keeps me going. I’m ready for another round,” he said.

Mario Amado was vacationing in the popular beach town when he was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct after a fight with his girlfriend. After less than two hours in custody he was found dead.

Mexican authorities maintained that Mario Amado hanged himself with a sweater. But independent autopsies arranged by Joe Amado concluded his brother had been savagely beaten and strangled with a rope.