Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Two Former Big Shots In Sheriff's Department Indicted For Being Corrupt As Hell
It's finally happened: federal officials announced that former Los Angeles County Undersheriff Paul Tanaka and former sheriff's Capt. Tom Carey were being indicted on obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges. These are the highest-ranking officials to be indicted in the corruption scandal.
The pair are facing charges not because of all the many, many claims of excessive force that have been levied against the department in recent years but because the pair allegedly tried to block the FBI investigation into that abuse, according to City News Service. They surrendered to FBI authorities this morning.
There had been rumors that deputies at the Men's Central Jail were particularly violent and abusive for some time and in recent years increasingly disturbing stories came to light, like a visitor getting beat up for bringing in a cell phone (and ending up looking like this), an Austrian consul and her husband unlawfully detained during a visit and awful stories of inmates being abused or even killed at the hands of deputies.
But it was the cover-up that led to the undoing of many officials in the department. Sheriff's officials found out that inmate Anthony Brown had become an informant for the FBI in August 2011 when they discovered a cell phone that was used to make calls and send photos of alleged abuse to the feds. FBI agents had been visiting him regularly where he supplied the names of corrupt and abusive deputies in the department. When deputies realized what was going on, they hid him from the FBI. They booked and rebooked him under false names, and finally told him that the FBI had abandoned him.
Support for LAist comes from
In December 2013, 18 officials in the department were indicted. Seven were convicted of obstructing justice. Everyone who worked to help hide Brown said that they were following orders from up high. Sheriff Lee Baca stepped down in January 2014.
Tanaka, who was considered a sort of "shadow sheriff" in the department, is the highest-ranking former official to face charges. He retired from the department in March 2013. He later ran for the job of sheriff (though, he barely campaigned) but he was defeated by Jim McDonnell. He is currently the mayor of Gardena.
His attorney H. Dean Steward tells the Los Angeles Times that he plans to fight the charges against him: "At all times, Mr. Tanaka dedicated himself to serving the residents of Los Angeles County honorably, ethically and legally. After all the facts come to light, we are confident he will be exonerated of any wrongdoing."
Both Tanaka and Carey testified at previous trials. Witness LA says Tanaka tried to portray himself in testimony as a distant supervisor who didn't know about the effort to hide Brown—though that clashed with other testimony that portrayed him as a more hands-on leader. Carey is accused of lying during testimony in the trials of lower-ranking officials last year, according to the Los Angeles Times. Carey was in charge of the department's unit for investigating internal criminal matters, and Witness LA says he appeared to be the point man for what unofficially became known as Operation Pandora's Box.
You can read the indictment here.
Related:
Judge Sentences Deputies Who Covered Up Jail Abuse: 'None Of You Showed The Courage To Do What's Right'
The Most Shocking Allegations To Come Out Of The FBI Crackdown On L.A. Sheriff's Department
Bye Bye Baca: Emotional Sheriff Goes Out 'On My Terms'
Jim McDonnell Wants To Bring A 'Fresh Set Of Eyes' To The Sheriff's Department
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance. -
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
Best of LAist