Narc cop gets busted.

[Madrus Rose]

"Affidavit says Top Contra Costa narcotics agent caught on video counting drug money" (for a pound of methamphetamine)

Associated Press

Posted: 02/25/2011 06:55:51 PM PST
Updated: 02/25/2011 10:38:43 PM PST
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_...ecure.www.contracostatimes.com&nclick_check=1


MARTINEZ -- The attorney for a state narcotics agent who is facing more than 25 felony counts connected to the alleged sale of drugs downplayed allegations Friday that his client was caught on video counting cash after selling a pound of methamphetamine stolen from evidence.

California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement agents said in a search warrant affidavit that an informant wearing a hidden camera also shot video of Norman Wielsch weighing the drugs.

Wielsch, 49, of Antioch, formerly the head of the state-run Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement Team, or CNET, is accused of working with Concord resident Christopher Butler, a 49-year-old private investigator charged with the same crimes. They have not entered pleas.

"To me, it means nothing other than it's pandering to the emotions of people in order to elicit responses to what's going on," said Michael Cardoza, Wielsch's attorney, adding that until the discovery process is complete, what is seen in the video is "not of any evidentiary value."

Chief Narcotics Commander Norman Wielsch displaying drugs he later stole & sold !

 

[greenmatter]

gotta love this stuff ... bastard sold drugs to pay bills .. what a dick! so does that mean he gets nailed to the cross? doubt it, but hoping they shock us on this one.

 

[Green lung]

This is probably the asshole who sending all the Cali weed to the East Coast?





shit I wouldn't put it past these guys

 

[hazy]

a pound of meth?? holy cow man!! You know how many times a tweaker could get high off of a pound of meth? 1500?? more?? That's a lot of dope on the streets. Funny or sad, that they then use the stats of the people they bust with the meth that they would not have had if it weren't for the cop selling it to them, as evidence of a bigger drug problem and the need for more money to keep those drugs off the street.

Think how many kids this guy has helped down the path to hard drugs. You don't need a gateway drug when you have cops dealing meth.

I wonder if he did the D.A.R.E. class for the little kids?

 

[Hammerhead]

Im more surprised we have not seen more of this. We would have to be awful naive to not think this is not going on. There to much money involved and with this recession good cops go bad and bad cops get worse.

 

[Tdot]

"Well of the 25- 28 felonies both the Narcotics Chief & Butler are charged with , would be really interesting to see that entire list ...but the one charge they shouldn't have gotten is the Marijuana sales , think we all can agree."

No i dont agree he should be charged with marijuana sales for the simple fact he would of charged me if i was caught selling. Also now the fuckin DEA is slanging weed too... bunch of hypocrites

 

[Hammerhead]

things look lke theres going to be a big shake up in the canna industries very soon. when they ge that class 2 its all over. We will have every pill under the sun with THC in it.

 

[Madrus Rose]

Another arrest related in the case , Deputy Sheriff Stephen Tanabe as accompliss.... more drug sales plus a ruse of setting up men in Bars with women , then busting them as they left in their cars on DUI charges .

" Danville deputy arrested in ongoing drug probe"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/05/BAU11I4NTP.DTL&tsp=1

"
A law enforcement source close to the investigation, who asked not to be named, said agents are looking into whether Tanabe was hired by a private investigator in connection with a scheme to arrest men for drunken driving in an effort to blemish their records in hotly contested divorce cases.

The source said officers in as many as four Bay Area departments are now being scrutinized for their ties to the investigator, Christopher Butler, 49, to see if they also made arrests at his orders. "



* Danville, Ca is one of the wealthiest areas in the US ...

 

[greenmatter]

Another arrest related in the case , Deputy Sheriff Stephen Tanabe as accompliss.... more drug sales plus a ruse of setting up men in Bars with women , then busting them as they left in their cars on DUI charges .

" Danville deputy arrested in ongoing drug probe"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/05/BAU11I4NTP.DTL&tsp=1

"
A law enforcement source close to the investigation, who asked not to be named, said agents are looking into whether Tanabe was hired by a private investigator in connection with a scheme to arrest men for drunken driving in an effort to blemish their records in hotly contested divorce cases.

The source said officers in as many as four Bay Area departments are now being scrutinized for their ties to the investigator, Christopher Butler, 49, to see if they also made arrests at his orders. "



* Danville, Ca is one of the wealthiest areas in the US ...

wow, it is almost like cops CAN NOT be trusted .... hmmmm .....maybe power does corrupt ... who'd a thunk it ?

 

[Madrus Rose]

wow, it is almost like cops CAN NOT be trusted .... hmmmm .....maybe power does corrupt ... who'd a thunk it ?

well more & more with this latest arrest of Deptuty Stephen Tanabe of Danville & the ongoing investigation it seems this ex-officer & Private eye Chris Butler is the center of focus. They were all former members of the Antioch police but this Butler charactor was described by one of his male employee's as a "master of dissembling " & hated working for the guy . Bet he's the master mind that swayed his Chief Narco buddy to steal then off the Meth, pot & pills .

Ex cop Chris Butler , not so smart now ...

Its all so hypocritical & happens in an area that has zones that can boast as much affluence as Hollywood & Beverly Hills & one of the highest standards of living in the US . So an imprtant "lens" on just how moral this War on Drugs really is & its own base of hypocrisy in Prohibition that has proven time after time thru the decades to not work . One of the more relevent facts after the repeal of Alcohol prohibiton was the marked decline in violent crimes in each following decade .

With Drug Prohibition now , we see heightened gang & drug related violence everywhere , that rivals what this country already went thru with Alcohol & again refuse to see. And prisons overflowing with all the non violent offenders (& illegals) which they make profit from with very little rehabilitation & destruction of lives .

These guys were alledged to using female private eyes to get these wealthy "Johns" drunk & then busting them outside for DUI's to mar their charactor & create criminal records in contested divorce procedings....and the drug sales which they would throw u or me in a dirty jail for & for far lessor amounts .

Contra Costa County sheriff's deputy arrested

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F03%2F05%2FMNU11I4NTP.DTL

 

[greenmatter]

you gotta admit these guys got style ..... no morals, no principles, no class and no clue .... but style

 

[Madrus Rose]

just in a new case in San Francisco : " Videos Prompt FBI Investigation Of Alleged SFPD Misconduct "
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/20...fbi-investigation-of-alleged-sfpd-misconduct/

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/BCN) – The FBI plans to conduct its own investigation into the alleged misconduct of police officers during at least three drug busts in San Francisco in recent months, an FBI spokeswoman said Friday.

Videos were released Wednesday by San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi, who said the tapes show that police violated residents’ constitutional rights by entering their homes in two incidents at a South of Market residential hotel in December and January.


Adachi said that officers then lied about their alleged unlawful entry in police reports and in court.

Surveillance video in a third case has since been released, which Adachi’s office said Friday shows plainclothes officers kicking in a door at the home of a disabled man and his dog on New Year’s Eve at Hotel Royan, a residential hotel located at 405 Valencia St. in the city’s Mission District.
FBI spokeswoman Julianne Sohn said, “The FBI is conducting an independent investigation of allegations against several police officers and we have the cooperation of the San Francisco Police Department.”

San Francisco police Chief Jeff Godown said Friday that plainclothes operations at the department’s Southern Station have been suspended pending investigations.

He said San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi has made investigations “very difficult” by not immediately submitting footage to police of the drug busts.

A total of six officers are accused of the misconduct. Police Lt. Troy Dangerfield said the officers involved in the accusations haven’t been placed on administrative leave, but instead, “They’ve been reassigned to a non-public contact assignment, because they are just allegations at this point.”

Some of the officers in the newest footage, which was released by the public defender’s office, are among those who have been accused in the two previous incidents, according to Adachi’s office.

“This is the first in what will likely be a long line of cases involving these officers,” said Tamara Barak Aparton, spokeswoman for the public defender’s office.

On the night of the Dec. 31 incident, the video shows officers knocking on the door at the home of a 28-year-old disabled man, Barak Aparton said.

“Police wrote in their report that their badges were visible, but nowhere in the video can you see badges,” she said.

On the footage, the man apparently tries to block the door, but police kick it in. He was then arrested after police said they saw crack cocaine in plain sight, according to Adachi’s office.

“In their report, police said they checked via computer to verify that this man had a warrant for his arrest,” Barak Aparton said. “But there’s no record of them doing that until after his arrest.”

At a hearing on Thursday, prosecutors dropped the misdemeanor drug possession charges against the man, said Seth Steward, spokesman for the district attorney’s office.

In the two other busts that were potentially mishandled, which took place on Dec. 23 and Jan. 5, San Francisco police entered rooms on the fifth floor of the Henry Hotel at Sixth and Mission streets after getting tips about narcotics in the rooms, according to the public defender’s office.

In the Dec. 23 incident, four officers used a master key that can open doors of any room at Henry Hotel.

Police Officer Arshad Razzak wrote in his police report that officers knocked on the resident’s door, announced themselves and waited for a response.

After hearing no response, police used the key to slightly open the door and, without entering, told a female resident they were waiting outside until they could obtain a search warrant.

The woman then gave the officers verbal permission to search the premises while police contacted headquarters and asked for a consent form she could read, according to Razzak’s report.

A man inside the room was then arrested on suspicion of possessing 65 grams of heroin and a single rock of crack cocaine, said Deputy Public Defender Anne Irwin, who represented the suspect.

However, the surveillance video obtained by the public defender’s office from the hotel appears to show officers walking up to the door of the room, bursting in, and immediately pulling out a man and putting him in handcuffs.

In the Jan. 5 case, four officers again responded to the fifth floor of the hotel, which Adachi called a “so-called hot spot” of drug activity, and obtained the master key.

A police report written by Officer Richard Yick stated that officers were met in the hallway by a woman who voluntarily opened the door to her room.

A man who came to the door told officers he was on probation, which the officers then confirmed with dispatch before entering and searching the room, according to Yick’s report.

The man and woman were arrested after police found about 15 grams of heroin, said Deputy Public Defender Tal Klement, who represented the pair.

However, the surveillance video taken on that day appears to show Yick covering the camera for about 15 seconds while other officers allegedly ordered the woman to open the door, according to Klement, who said there was never any conversation with the occupant of the room.

After obtaining the surveillance tapes, the public defender’s office “kept the fact that we had the video under wraps” as the officers testified in court that they had followed lawful procedures while searching the residences.

After the video evidence was presented to the judge, the Jan. 5 case was dismissed on Monday.

Razzak and Yick were both present in the Dec. 23 and Jan. 5 cases, according to the public defender’s office.

Barak Aparton said the four officers accused of misconduct in the three cases are Robert Forneris, Arthur Madrid, Raymond Kane, and Raul Elias.

Barak Aparton said she expects more cases against clients of the public defender will be dropped because of the alleged misconduct of these officers.

“These guys did several busts a day. They’re involved in a lot of drug cases and robberies,” she said.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, who was police chief at the time of the incidents, said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon that the video footage was brought to his attention earlier that day, and “gives us great cause for concern.”

Given Gascon’s ties to the Police Department, Adachi had called for an outside agency like the state attorney general’s office to investigate the case.

But Gascon said he saw “absolutely no reason why I should recuse myself” from the case.

 

[rick shaw]

just in a new case in San Francisco : " Videos Prompt FBI Investigation Of Alleged SFPD Misconduct "
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/20...fbi-investigation-of-alleged-sfpd-misconduct/

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/BCN) – The FBI plans to conduct its own investigation into the alleged misconduct of police officers during at least three drug busts in San Francisco in recent months, an FBI spokeswoman said Friday.

Videos were released Wednesday by San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi, who said the tapes show that police violated residents’ constitutional rights by entering their homes in two incidents at a South of Market residential hotel in December and January.


Adachi said that officers then lied about their alleged unlawful entry in police reports and in court.

Surveillance video in a third case has since been released, which Adachi’s office said Friday shows plainclothes officers kicking in a door at the home of a disabled man and his dog on New Year’s Eve at Hotel Royan, a residential hotel located at 405 Valencia St. in the city’s Mission District.
FBI spokeswoman Julianne Sohn said, “The FBI is conducting an independent investigation of allegations against several police officers and we have the cooperation of the San Francisco Police Department.”

San Francisco police Chief Jeff Godown said Friday that plainclothes operations at the department’s Southern Station have been suspended pending investigations.

He said San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi has made investigations “very difficult” by not immediately submitting footage to police of the drug busts.

A total of six officers are accused of the misconduct. Police Lt. Troy Dangerfield said the officers involved in the accusations haven’t been placed on administrative leave, but instead, “They’ve been reassigned to a non-public contact assignment, because they are just allegations at this point.”

Some of the officers in the newest footage, which was released by the public defender’s office, are among those who have been accused in the two previous incidents, according to Adachi’s office.

“This is the first in what will likely be a long line of cases involving these officers,” said Tamara Barak Aparton, spokeswoman for the public defender’s office.

On the night of the Dec. 31 incident, the video shows officers knocking on the door at the home of a 28-year-old disabled man, Barak Aparton said.

“Police wrote in their report that their badges were visible, but nowhere in the video can you see badges,” she said.

On the footage, the man apparently tries to block the door, but police kick it in. He was then arrested after police said they saw crack cocaine in plain sight, according to Adachi’s office.

“In their report, police said they checked via computer to verify that this man had a warrant for his arrest,” Barak Aparton said. “But there’s no record of them doing that until after his arrest.”

At a hearing on Thursday, prosecutors dropped the misdemeanor drug possession charges against the man, said Seth Steward, spokesman for the district attorney’s office.

In the two other busts that were potentially mishandled, which took place on Dec. 23 and Jan. 5, San Francisco police entered rooms on the fifth floor of the Henry Hotel at Sixth and Mission streets after getting tips about narcotics in the rooms, according to the public defender’s office.

In the Dec. 23 incident, four officers used a master key that can open doors of any room at Henry Hotel.

Police Officer Arshad Razzak wrote in his police report that officers knocked on the resident’s door, announced themselves and waited for a response.

After hearing no response, police used the key to slightly open the door and, without entering, told a female resident they were waiting outside until they could obtain a search warrant.

The woman then gave the officers verbal permission to search the premises while police contacted headquarters and asked for a consent form she could read, according to Razzak’s report.

A man inside the room was then arrested on suspicion of possessing 65 grams of heroin and a single rock of crack cocaine, said Deputy Public Defender Anne Irwin, who represented the suspect.

However, the surveillance video obtained by the public defender’s office from the hotel appears to show officers walking up to the door of the room, bursting in, and immediately pulling out a man and putting him in handcuffs.

In the Jan. 5 case, four officers again responded to the fifth floor of the hotel, which Adachi called a “so-called hot spot” of drug activity, and obtained the master key.

A police report written by Officer Richard Yick stated that officers were met in the hallway by a woman who voluntarily opened the door to her room.

A man who came to the door told officers he was on probation, which the officers then confirmed with dispatch before entering and searching the room, according to Yick’s report.

The man and woman were arrested after police found about 15 grams of heroin, said Deputy Public Defender Tal Klement, who represented the pair.

However, the surveillance video taken on that day appears to show Yick covering the camera for about 15 seconds while other officers allegedly ordered the woman to open the door, according to Klement, who said there was never any conversation with the occupant of the room.

After obtaining the surveillance tapes, the public defender’s office “kept the fact that we had the video under wraps” as the officers testified in court that they had followed lawful procedures while searching the residences.

After the video evidence was presented to the judge, the Jan. 5 case was dismissed on Monday.

Razzak and Yick were both present in the Dec. 23 and Jan. 5 cases, according to the public defender’s office.

Barak Aparton said the four officers accused of misconduct in the three cases are Robert Forneris, Arthur Madrid, Raymond Kane, and Raul Elias.

Barak Aparton said she expects more cases against clients of the public defender will be dropped because of the alleged misconduct of these officers.

“These guys did several busts a day. They’re involved in a lot of drug cases and robberies,” she said.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, who was police chief at the time of the incidents, said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon that the video footage was brought to his attention earlier that day, and “gives us great cause for concern.”

Given Gascon’s ties to the Police Department, Adachi had called for an outside agency like the state attorney general’s office to investigate the case.

But Gascon said he saw “absolutely no reason why I should recuse myself” from the case.

I've seen three of these guys working the tenderloin,yikes
This thread conveys an important point,that leo doesn't always follow the rules,so when people start with "They need a warrant to use FLIR" or other all knowing drivel,I know they have not been a guest of the criminal justice system.

 

[Madrus Rose]

gotta love this stuff ... bastard sold drugs to pay bills .. what a dick! so does that mean he gets nailed to the cross? doubt it, but hoping they shock us on this one.

Turns out busted Private Detective --> Chris Brown had a big desire to be known as media celebrity and a badass....but made what turned out to be a big mistake by asking the Diablo Magazine to write about him. It turns out that the chief Editor of that Magazine was approached by an informant later that he connected to the DOJ . The Diablo has a 10,000word feature article now describing the whole chain of events that led to them getting caught drug dealing .
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/3/prweb8223304.htm

Senor Editor Peter Crooks 8 page article describing the chain of events that led to
Private Eye Butler & Narcotics Chief Norman Wielsch's arrests :

Diablo magazine’s April cover story gives readers the inside story on how a confidential informant and the State of California’s Department of Justice brought down Chris Butler, a former SWAT police officer turned private investigator, and Norm Wielsch, the former commander of the Central Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement Team (CCCNET).

Senior Editor Peter Crooks, who had been writing a feature about Butler’s detective firm, was tipped to the illegal drug deals by an anonymous source. Crooks helped the source get to the Department of Justice and go undercover, which led to the arrest of Butler and Wielsch. Both individuals could face more than 25 years in prison for the 28 felony counts they have each been charged with. The charges include selling crystal methamphetamine, anabolic steroids, and marijuana.

In a gripping 10,000-word magazine piece, Crooks tells how his involvement on the story started with a salacious ride-along with Butler’s team of “PI Moms,” a few weeks before Butler and the PI Moms were scheduled to start filming a reality show for Lifetime Television. In a case of truth being stranger than fiction, Crooks learned his ride-along had been a fake, scripted and acted by decoys. Crooks also discovered that Butler had staged cases for national media outlets, including People magazine and the Dr. Phil show. From there, the story turns into a twisted tale involving illegal narcotics sales, product placement firearms, dirty DUI stings, and the terrifying possibility of military-grade explosives posing a threat to the community

and he wanted to be a baddass Reality Star...now he'll get first billing in a Federal Pen !

 

[Madrus Rose]

PI in drug case allegedly also tried to sell plastic explosives
http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-03-01/news/28645199_1_informant-explosives-norman-wielsch
SF Gate, March 01, 2011

Authorities say a Contra Costa County private investigator who allegedly sold drugs stolen from a state-run drug task force also tried to find buyers for military-grade explosives.

According to a search warrant affidavit, 49-year-old Christopher Butler asked a state justice department informant whether the informant could find a buyer for two bricks of the explosive C-4.

Authorities say the discussion took place when the informant was giving Butler money for marijuana and steroids in February. Butler is accused of selling the drugs with Norman Wielsch, the former head of the Central Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement Team.

 

[EastFortRock]

Law enforcement trains their people to lie and be dishonest. They should not be surprised when their people do crimes. A lot of cops quit their jobs because they can't handle being a liar and immoral. Who is then left to be a cop? I know of a good cop in a different state that is sticking with it to make changes, the problem is the chief wants him gone.

 

[Green lung]

Law enforcement trains their people to lie and be dishonest. They should not be surprised when their people do crimes. A lot of cops quit their jobs because they can't handle being a liar and immoral. Who is then left to be a cop? I know of a good cop in a different state that is sticking with it to make changes, the problem is the chief wants him gone.

It takes COURAGE to whats right sometimes. I wish him the best

 

[greenmatter]

ya know as much as i hate to say it there are more than likely a lot of good cops out there who hate these guys worse than we do. it would be hard to always do the right thing every day and still have douches like this make you look like a clown. the cops who are trying to do the right thing are hated by most of us because of shit heads like this ...... not a job i would want

 

[hurdy gurdy man]

ya know as much as i hate to say it there are more than likely a lot of good cops out there who hate these guys worse than we do. it would be hard to always do the right thing every day and still have douches like this make you look like a clown. the cops who are trying to do the right thing are hated by most of us because of shit heads like this ...... not a job i would want

Well said.

 

[vta]

FBI — Former CNET Commander Pleads Guilty to Drug, Robbery, and Civil Rights Violations

The former commander of the Central Contra Costa County Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET) and a special agent supervisor of the California Department of Justice pleaded guilty to five felony counts in federal court in Oakland today, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

Norman Wielsch admitted one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute marijuana and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of theft from programs receiving federal funds, two counts of civil rights conspiracy, and one count of Hobbs Act robbery. In pleading guilty to the charges, Wielsch, 51, admitted to stealing from evidence facilities $30,000 to $70,000 worth of marijuana and methamphetamine that had been seized during legitimate CNET raids.

Specifically, Wielsch admitted that he stole at least 20 pounds of marijuana and more than 400 grams of high-purity methamphetamine (ice) between November 2010 and February 2011. He further admitted to conspiring to distribute these drugs with his codefendant, private investigator and former Antioch police officer Christopher Butler, also 51.

In pleading to the civil rights conspiracies, Wielsch admitted that he and Butler participated together in a phony “sting” operation in which they falsely detained a young man under the guise of a legitimate law enforcement operation, conducted warrantless searches, and kept narcotics that were taken during the sting. Wielsch also admitted that he and Butler staged what purported to be legitimate sting operations against prostitutes but instead of seizing evidence and citing the prostitutes, they unlawfully took the prostitutes’ money and property for themselves. Wielsch acknowledged that they took more than $10,000 from individuals in the course of their prostitution robberies.

After entering his guilty plea, Wielsch was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. Wielsch’s sentencing is scheduled for February 19, 2013, at 10 a.m. before Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong in Oakland. Wielsch and Butler were indicted by a federal grand jury on August 9, 2011.

Butler pleaded guilty on May 4, 2012, to a superseding information charging the same narcotics conspiracy, theft from programs receiving federal funds, two civil rights conspiracies and robbery counts to which Wielsch pleaded guilty, as well as extortion under color of official right and illegal wiretapping. On September 25, 2012, Butler was sentenced to 96 months in prison and a $20,000 fine, receiving a sentencing reduction for his cooperation with law enforcement in this and other investigations.

The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute marijuana and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine is life in prison with a 10-year mandatory minimum and a $10 million fine. The maximum statutory penalty for theft from programs receiving federal funds and conspiracy against rights is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum statutory penalty for Hobbs Act robbery is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

However, any sentence would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence. Hartley M. K. West is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Rania Ghawi and Alycee Lane.

The prosecution is the result of a lengthy investigation by the FBI with the assistance of the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.