cannabisnews.com: Bonus Payment To Informant Draws Criticism Bonus Payment To Informant Draws Criticism Posted by FoM on May 24, 2001 at 13:41:24 PT By Stuart Pfeifer, David Reyes Times Staff Writers Source: Los Angeles Times An undercover informant at the center of one of Orange County's biggest crackdowns on street crime is counting on police to help him repay nearly $6,000 in bad checks he allegedly wrote while on the police payroll, his attorney said. Jose G. Nolasco, a convicted drug dealer whose undercover work in a crime-plagued Santa Ana neighborhood led to 125 indictments, was charged with three felonies last year for allegedly passing bad checks during the seven-month "Operation Orion." His attorney, Michael Molfetta of Newport Beach, said law enforcement agencies will help Nolasco pay nearly $6,000 restitution. "Law enforcement is actively involved in raising the money," Molfetta said. "Whether that's a bonus or a gift or a loan, I don't know." Nolasco already had received $58,000--including cash payments, rent and medical expenses--during the operation in 1999 and 2000, court records show. Prosecutors say that while Nolasco will receive an extra "bonus," the payment was promised to him at the beginning of the operation and is not connected to the felony charges. Defense Lawyers Are Angry: However, that assurance failed to douse criticism from angry defense lawyers whose clients were arrested during the operation. They contend that Nolasco's alleged crimes were far more serious than those of many low-level drug dealers he helped arrest. "You're paying this guy so much money to go after my guy with $10, $20, $30 sales," said Michael Giannini of Orange County's alternate defenders office. "That's an outrageous use of public funds. You're using a sledgehammer to get a flea." A prosecutor who worked on the Orion investigation said the money Nolasco will receive is simply a final cash bonus from law enforcement agencies that paid him throughout the operation. Nolasco, 28, can use that bonus as he pleases, including repaying the stores he is accused of defrauding, Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeffrey Ferguson said. "The notion there's some agency that's going to take care of this on his behalf, that's wrong," Ferguson said. "This was money he was going to get whether or not he owed restitution." The amount of the bonus has yet to be determined, but the cost will be shared by the FBI, state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, Santa Ana Police Department and the district attorney's office, Ferguson said. The payments were necessary, authorities said, because it would have been impractical for Nolasco to hold a job while working full-time on the investigation. Nolasco was awaiting deportation in 1999 when Orange County authorities tapped him to work undercover as Operation Orion's star informant. Informant Took Drugs During the Sting: He cruised the city's Santa Anita neighborhood, buying drugs and stolen property in a car equipped with a sophisticated hidden video system. After the arrests, word of Nolasco's troubles began to surface. In a trial for one of the suspects last year, Nolasco testified that he took drugs while working for the police and overdosed on heroin on the eve of his testimony before the county grand jury. Nolasco could face more than five years in prison if convicted of writing 19 bad checks while working undercover during the police operation. The state attorney general charged Nolasco with three felonies for allegedly passing the bad checks during a three-day shopping spree in Orange County. Under a tentative agreement, Nolasco will repay $5,951 to businesses ranging from Home Depot to PetsMart and the charges will be reduced to misdemeanors without a jail sentence, Molfetta said. Capistrano Beach lawyer Dean Steward, who regularly dealt with informants as head of the county's federal public defender's office, described the arrangement and payments to Nolasco as unusual. "It seems like they gave him a get-out-of-jail-free card," Steward said. "Pay to informants is very common. The unusual part is allowing this guy to commit crimes and then reimbursing him for it. They can call it whatever they want. . . .That's just not right." Santa Ana police Sgt. Raul Luna said Nolasco, now living out of state for his own safety, should be credited for cleaning up a neighborhood once plagued by crime. "Because of his cooperation, the quality of life in our neighborhoods has improved over what it once was," Luna said. Crime: Attorney says officials are raising $6,000 to repay man's bad checks. Police insist it was part of the original employment deal. Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Author: Stuart Pfeifer, David Reyes, Times Staff WritersPublished: Thursday, May 24, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles Times Contact: letters latimes.com Website: http://www.latimes.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Frontline: Snitchhttp://pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/snitch/Informants Who Corrupt The Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9138.shtmlDEA Informer's Trail of Lies Contorts Drug Case http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8489.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #7 posted by FoM on May 25, 2001 at 10:50:05 PT Memories Hi jacksplace58,It is amazing what we remember. I remember when I was around 4 years old having my first little glass of coca cola. My Mother asked me did I like it and I said yes and she said it was better when they first made it but they took an ingredient out. I don't know if she had Coca Cola with Cocaine in it or was just telling me about Coca Cola but I do remember her saying that. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by jacksplace58 on May 25, 2001 at 06:36:40 PT Memories FoM,...it's amazing what you'll remember like in the movie "Beau Gest" when the guy gets shot and he's told to get it dressed and eat some hashish for the pain,... But then that was the movies,.. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by dddd on May 25, 2001 at 05:31:34 PT Dumber than we know The worst part,,is that we dont even have any way of knowinghow often these informant ploys are used.The only time we hearabout them,is when there's a fiasco in court,and even then,in mostcases,it is very difficult to extract info on these questionable narc/stings,because the informants,and their handlers have alot of legal loopholesto obscure identities.............dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on May 25, 2001 at 05:03:11 PT: Some major points to remember One: the informant was not a citizen."Nolasco was awaiting deportation in 1999 when Orange County authorities tapped him to work undercover as Operation Orion's star informant."So who would have first dibs on him, La Migra or the locals? What legal standing did this 'illegal alien' have?Two: He committed crimes while in the employ of the LEOs"...was charged with three felonies last year for allegedly passing bad checks during the seven-month "Operation Orion."and "In a trial for one of the suspects last year, Nolasco testified that he took drugs while working for the police and overdosed on heroin on the eve of his testimony before the county grand jury."This is a very large can of worms that has been sloppily opened. Like the DEA informant who's now been 'retired' by the DEA because he perjured himself repeatedly; like the Tulia Incident with a nark giving false testimony; and now this. You'd think antis would learn that it pointless at best and dangerous at worst (it was a 'tip' from a drunken snitch that led to the 'accidental' death of Ismael Mena) to rely upon the inherently unreliable.How dumb can they be? [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by dddd on May 24, 2001 at 23:38:55 PT FoM I'm not sure either.It's definitly a gray area in the law,,,,and whocould you ask,or complain to,,John Ashcroft?....I think I like Californias attorney general Bill Lockyer.The other dayhe was talking about some Texas power company that has been burning California big time with power prices...here's what he said; "I would love to personally escort [Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth] Lay to an 8-by-10 cell that hecould share with a tattooed dude who says, 'Hi my name is Spike, honey,' " Lockyer said. LoL...dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on May 24, 2001 at 22:28:11 PT Question Hi dddd,I posted this article because of the policy and I thought years ago they said you couldn't use informants then all these years later it's all they do use practically. I don't remember how it changed or if I was wrong in remembering that informants weren't going to be allowed. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by dddd on May 24, 2001 at 22:03:24 PT How low can you go? I live in Orange county,,,but even if I didnt,,I'd still be shocked.It seems like these paid informant episodes just keep getting moreand more outrageous.....Can you imagine how many of these informantpayoff schemes go on that we never hear of?This is getting beyond absurd,,,and they talk about the money they paythese informants,as if it were somehow different than money fromtaxes.....This is another example of how the war on drugs has createda seperate entity of law enforcement that is totally out of control,and accountabe to no one.This is mega-scandalous.........ddd Freakin'....d [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: