May 12, 2008 7:23 pm US/Pacific
Ex-LAPD Officer Sentenced To 13 Years In Prison
LOS ANGELES
A former LAPD officer was sentenced to more than 13 years in a federal prison Monday for his leader role in a ring of law enforcement officers who took part in home invasion robberies staged to look like police raids.
The former group's ring leader, Ruben Palomares, 38, admitted being the mastermind of more than 40 phony raids from early 1999 to June 2001 at homes in working-class neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess sentenced him to 158 months in
federal prison.
Along with Palomares, members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Long Beach Police Department and California Department of
Corrections took part in the raids.
Palomares also recruited civilians, friends and family members, including a 34-year-old cousin, Gabriel Loaiza, who was also sentenced Monday. Feess gave Loaiza nine years in federal prison.
Both men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the civil rights of others, conspiracy to distribute illegal drugs, violating the civil rights of others and using a firearm during a crime of violence.
Added into their previous sentences for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, Palomares will have spent about 20 years in prison, while Loaiza -- who cooperated very early in the government's case -- will have served a total of 15 years.
Addressing the court today, Palomares called his stint behind bars "the
most embarrassing thing I've been through."
"I became a criminal -- something I never wanted to do; something I
despised," he said.
Palomares got emotional when talking about his fall from grace as well as talking about his five children.
Feess said Palomares wouldn't see his children grow up, but his sentence "will give him the opportunity to be part of their lives after he's been released."
Both Palomares and Loaiza testified in January against two of their co-conspirators, ex-LAPD Officer William Ferguson and his brother, ex-Long Beach Police Officer Joseph Ferguson. Both men were convicted.
Acting on tips from an informant, Palomares and other uniformed officers
went to homes where drugs or cash were believed to be stashed.
The officers would then split the stolen cash or sell the drugs on the
street for profit, Palomares said.
Prosecutors said that on one occasion, Palomares and others tortured a Compton drug dealer at his home, beating him and shoving a gun in his mouth when no drugs or cash were found.
Palomares also admitted to falsifying evidence, committing perjury and
writing bogus police reports during his years at the LAPD.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
