D.A. DROPS RAMPART PROBE.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

Three years after the Rampart corruption scandal broke, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley has declined to file criminal charges in 82 cases investigated by the LAPD, citing insufficient evidence and the unreliability of former rogue cop Rafael Perez as a witness.

Cooley said Monday he discovered ``a mess'' when he took over the Rampart investigation in early 2001 - delving into what was widely billed as the worst corruption scandal in LAPD history.

``There was tremendous speculation, some heavy doses of exaggeration and anticipation, and some result-oriented thinking all thrown into a big pot,'' Cooley said.

He said he tried to untangle it by instituting stricter protocols, and demanding the Los Angeles Police Department turn over more investigative materials. With only a few exceptions, he said, the cases did not meet standards for filing criminal charges.

Former District Attorney Gil Garcetti could not be reached Monday for comment.

Garcetti headed the office when Perez was apprehended for stealing $1 million in cocaine from a police evidence locker, then, in a plea agreement, incriminated his entire Rampart Division anti-gang unit in dozens of cases involving alleged brutality, frame-ups and lies.

Complicating prosecutors' efforts was that Perez, as an admitted perjuror, thief and planter of evidence, couldn't be used as a witness.

In the end, Perez and his partner, Nino Durden, went to prison.

Two other officers entered plea agreements, and three officers had their convictions overturned.

Cooley has appealed those reversals, and another former Rampart anti- gang officer is awaiting trial.

Cooley said prosecutors dug to the bottom of every case.

``I can tell you the personnel of this office did an incredible and conscientious job evaluating all the allegations that were investigated by LAPD,'' Cooley said.

But, critics said Cooley - and the justice system as a whole - failed to explain how Perez, Durden and the other Rampart officers could operate within the LAPD, while those who tried to blow the whistle on them were ignored, and more than 100 innocent people were sent to prison.

``We're leaving the elephant in the bathtub,'' said Connie Rice, a civil rights attorney. ``This is absurd. No one could afford to look at this. Where are the questions for the judges who accepted guilty pleas from innocent people? What happened to the whistle-blowers?''

Rice said the LAPD never should have been allowed to investigate its own officers in concert with the District Attorney's Office, which has close relationships with law enforcement. Instead, an outside law enforcement agency should have been brought in, she said. ``The D.A. should declare this is an emergency. ... We had a criminal justice breakdown. Where's the report on that?''

Cooley said he went to a grand jury last spring and experienced a ``major disappointment'' when it failed to issue a report on Rampart. He said he's implemented a wide-ranging series of reforms intended to detect future criminal activity within the law enforcement community.

Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School, said Rampart ``died a slow death,'' and that the public may never know the extent of the police corruption.

``In the public's mind this was the biggest police scandal in the history of Los Angeles, and it went out with a whimper,'' Levenson said. ``The public will say there's a question mark, that there either was never anything there, or there wasn't the will to go forward.''

Levenson said that while criminal prosecutorial standards are higher, Rampart had such serious repercussions it might be difficult for the public to be convinced of the final outcome.

The LAPD fired six officers, nine others resigned, and at least 18 officers were suspended as a result of Rampart.

Highly critical reports - one done internally by the LAPD - painted a picture of a department in disarray, where rogue officers could commit crimes.

More than 100 people were released from prison, more than $40 million in settlements were paid by the city to Rampart victims, and the scandal was central to a federal court consent decree imposed on the LAPD.

LAPD Cmdr. Gary Brennan, involved in the Rampart investigations and now commanding officer of the department's community affairs group, said the investigations were worth the time, expense and effort.

``What if we hadn't done that? What would be the cost? People would forever say that LAPD swept Rampart under the rug,'' Brennan said.

Cooley said criminal justice can only do so much in reforming police departments, and that it's up to the city's elected officials, as well as new Chief William Bratton and the LAPD to carry out changes.

``Criminal justice is like a blunt instrument that can be used to some ends through criminal prosecution, if it's there. Others should (also) be responsible.''