FBI probes homicide allegations against former LAPD officers

Perez is under investigation for murder

From CNN Correspondent Charles Feldman

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A joint FBI and Los Angeles police task force is investigating whether two former police officers -- one at the center of the Rampart corruption scandal -- may have killed two people while they were on the force, a source told CNN.

The source said the investigation centers around former police officers Rafael Perez and David Mack.

Perez has pleaded guilty to stealing cocaine from a Los Angeles police evidence locker. As part of a plea agreement for a five-year jail sentence, Perez testified that at least half of the cases brought by the Rampart unit involved planted evidence, and that more than 75 percent were tainted.

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The allegations have ignited the biggest corruption scandal in the department's history. Some 70 current and former officers are under investigation. At least 100 convictions have been overturned on the strength of Perez's statements to prosecutors, and thousands of other cases are being re-examined.

Mack, Perez's former partner, has since been convicted on bank robbery charges and is in prison.

The source told CNN that the allegations that Perez and Mack may have killed two people came from an ex-girlfriend of Perez. The source said the girlfriend's "credibility is questionable at this time," but the allegations are serious enough to warrant investigation.

Attorney Winston McKeffon, who represents Perez, denied the woman's allegations. "There is no truth to her story," he said.

Calls to Mack's attorney, Donald M. Re, were not immediately returned.

In addition to exposing Perez and Mack to possible murder charges, the source said the allegations could raise doubts about Perez's value as a witness for the state in the Rampart investigation.

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Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Los Angeles Police Department

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