Scam Suspects Have Police Backgrounds

Two of the four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies caught up in an internal criminal investigation into alleged credit card fraud and drug dealing worked for four other local law enforcement agencies before joining the department.

One, in fact, spent 14 years at the Los Angeles Police Department’s scandal-plagued Rampart station, according to the LAPD.

The deputies, David Osorio and Jessie Zuniga, were relieved of duty earlier this week after investigators uncovered two massive credit card scams. Zuniga also is suspected of selling black tar heroin inside the Twin Towers jail, where he worked.

Osorio, 26, worked for the El Camino College police department in Torrance and the Inglewood Unified School District’s police department before being hired by the Sheriff’s Department four years ago. Zuniga, 56, worked for the LAPD from 1973 until he retired in 1987. He then went to work for the Rapid Transit District police force. He was hired by the Sheriff’s Department less than three years ago.

Sheriff Lee Baca, and other department officials, say the deputies all received clean background checks and it did not appear that department investigators could be faulted for their hiring of the deputies.

But sources say that though Osorio received wide praise from his previous bosses, Zuniga appeared to come to the Sheriff’s Department with problems on the job.

Preemployment screening has become a major issue in Los Angeles’ law enforcement agencies. With the Sheriff’s Department and the LAPD, along with most other law enforcement agencies, suffering from vastly reduced numbers of recruits, departments have come under scrutiny for lowering standards to boost their ranks.

An LAPD internal report on the ongoing Rampart scandal, in fact, cited inadequate background checks conducted during the department’s rapid buildup some years ago as being partially to blame for the corruption crisis. The Sheriff’s Department, too, has faced criticism over the scope and speed of its screenings, particularly in reserve units.

Some law enforcement officials say candidates from other police agencies are viewed somewhat more favorably than “raw recruits” because they already have training and experience. Also, the background check is frequently faster with officers from other agencies.

One official familiar with the hiring practices of both departments said: “When they’re looking to hire people, they have a blind eye or a soft spot for prior law enforcement experience.”

In fact, of the 129 former transit police officers, like Zuniga, who applied to the Sheriff’s Department, all but nine were hired. Many of them had been turned down by LAPD, which found “problems” in their personnel records.

Officials from both departments say, however, that candidates from other agencies can also raise red flags. “It’s not an automatic at all,” said Phyllis Lynes, an LAPD commanding officer who oversees recruitment. “Sometimes we wonder: If you’re leaving another agency, why?”

Although Osorio’s background check appeared extremely positive, sources said, Zuniga’s should have raised some eyebrows. He was absorbed by the Sheriff’s Department when the transit police were merged into both the city and county police agencies.

Zuniga appeared to have “a problem package from RTD,” sheriff’s sources said. He was hired nonetheless. The sources said that Zuniga’s problems involved disciplinary issues and that he had been under scrutiny by his RTD supervisors.

Although all regular candidates for deputy jobs are given polygraph tests, sources said Zuniga was not required to take one because he had worked for the transit agency. The polygraph tester asks questions about drugs, theft and crime, among other things.

Custody assistants--civilians who work in the jails--receive less extensive background investigations than deputies and they are not required to take polygraph tests.

Osorio got rave reviews from the Inglewood school police, sources said. Among their comments: He had an “outstanding attitude, was hard-working, an excellent worker.” Overall, a potential “asset to the Sheriff’s Department.”

Sgt. Joseph Picou, who supervised Osorio at the school district and remained friendly with him, said Friday that he, along with everyone else in the department, was shocked at the allegations.

“He was a heck of a good cop when he was here,” Picou said. “He never in any way gave us any indication he would be involved in anything like this.”

Reached at home Friday, Osorio refused to comment. Zuniga could not be contacted.

Sheriff’s officials described Osorio far differently than his previous employers did. He was a loner, a mediocre employee at best, they said. He worked at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic, where he always took all his sick and vacation time. Over the last month, he began seeking overtime work--not for pay but to boost his vacation time, officials said.

Zuniga also was considered a mediocre employee, his bosses said.

The Sheriff’s Department suspended 11 employees Wednesday after discovering two credit card fraud scams. The other deputies relieved of duty are Richard English and Monica Planty.

Osorio, the investigators allege, was the ringleader and also worked with a partner in a far more extensive credit card scheme that could have netted millions of dollars.

Seven months ago, the department set up a sting in which deputies and custody assistants were monitored as they allegedly took what they believed were stolen credit cards, received personal identification numbers and then withdrew cash from teller machines.

The case has been turned over to the district attorney’s office, but no charges have been filed against the employees. All but one could face felony charges, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

In the LAPD, meanwhile, more than 30 officers have been relieved of duty, suspended, fired or have quit in the department’s Rampart crisis. More than 70 are under investigation on a variety of offenses, including covering up unjustified shootings, intimidating witnesses, planting evidence and perjury.