LOS ANGELES – Prosecutors told a jury Thursday that the former second-in-command of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department managed a plan to derail a federal grand jury investigation of alleged brutality in the county jails, but the defense countered that Paul Tanaka was merely following orders from the then-sheriff and is not guilty of any crime.
Former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, 56, of Gardena, is facing trial in Los Angeles federal court on one count each of conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice. His former boss, former Sheriff Lee Baca, pleaded guilty last month to a charge of lying to investigators and is awaiting sentencing in May.
The case stems from what prosecutors describe as a secret top-level sheriff’s department plan in 2011 to “hide” an inmate-turned-informant from FBI handlers and the grand jury during a time when federal officials were conducting a probe of alleged deputy violence against prisoners.
Anthony Brown, the inmate at the center of the case, became an issue for jail guards when an FBI cellphone was found in his possession on Aug. 8, 2011, and sheriff’s officials realized that he was cooperating in a secret federal probe they previously knew nothing about.
“Paul Tanaka had a scandal on his hands,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Fox said in his opening statement. “He learned about a federal investigation into the culture of the sheriff’s department — a culture Paul Tanaka created. Instead of squashing the scandal, Mr. Tanaka created a greater one.”
Fox said the alleged conspiracy overseen by Tanaka also included tampering with witnesses, and threatening to arrest a federal agent who had been carrying out her lawful duties.
However, Jerome Haig, one of Tanaka’s attorneys, told the panel that his client had been ordered by Baca to address the Brown situation by “protecting” the inmate-informer and by “investigating” how the FBI managed to smuggle a cellphone to Brown behind jail walls.
According to Haig, the plan to move Brown throughout the county under a fake booking name and number “was actually set in motion” by Steven Martinez, the FBI’s then-assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles office.
After the cellphone was found, Haig said, Martinez called Baca and suggested he “protect the inmate.”
Tanaka “knew some of what was going on,” Haig told the five-man, seven woman jury.
“It wasn’t his investigation to run,” the defense attorney said, adding that Tanaka never ordered his deputies to threaten the FBI agent or hamper the federal probe.
“The last thing Mr. Tanaka wanted to do was put up a wall so nobody could see what was going on,” Haig said. “He wanted to cooperate.”
Fox portrayed Tanaka’s management style as arrogant, controlling, paranoid and highly ambitious.
“Tanaka stated over and over again ‘F the FBI”,’ Fox said, adding that the now-retired lawman also repeated to his deputies a mantra that “we’re going to make sure the FBI stays out of our jails.”
During three previous trials of deputies in the case, Tanaka testified for the defense, admitting to his knowledge of much of the conduct he is now charged with, Fox said.
“Paul Tanaka tried to cover up the crimes of his deputies — and committed his own in the process,” the federal prosecutor said.
Haig, though, painted Tanaka as a tough, honest, long-serving public servant who “lived by a creed: to honorably perform his duties.”
Tanaka “expected excellence” from his underlings, and didn’t care if he made enemies in the process, Haig said.
“He wasn’t this meglomaniac,” the attorney said. “This wasn’t the Paul Tanaka sheriff’s department.”
At the same time, Tanaka “didn’t think that being a nice guy was in his job description,” Haig said.
Tanaka’s co-counsel, H. Dean Steward, has predicted the proceedings before U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson — expected to last about three weeks — would be a “dogfight.”
Eight former sheriff’s department officials — including a captain, two lieutenants and two sergeants — have been convicted for their roles in the cover-up.
All claimed they had been following orders from Baca and Tanaka in assisting a legitimate investigation into how and why a cell phone had been smuggled into the Men’s Central Jail.
Tanaka and retired captain Tom Carey, who headed an internal investigations unit, were charged in May with the alleged attempt to thwart the federal jails probe.
Carey pleaded guilty to a charge of lying on the witness stand during the 2014 trial of former Deputy James Sexton, who was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for trying to obstruct the jails investigation.
Tanaka — who is on leave as mayor of Gardena — retired from the sheriff’s department in August 2013. The charges against Tanaka and Carey brought to 21 the number of current or former sheriff’s officials charged in an ongoing federal probe into corruption and civil rights violations by guards at two downtown jail facilities.
Baca was the highest-ranking department official to be enveloped in the corruption scandal stemming from violence in the jail system. Baca, 73, retired in 2014 at the height of the federal probe. He had been sheriff since December 1998.
The former sheriff is not expected to testify at the Tanaka trial.
Previous related story: Jury selection underway for Tanaka trial
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George lamonte says
I must say its a tuff job for law enforcement there are cops that give there life and family’s to protect us,yes we get upset when crap like this happen we don’t see it every day but these cops do it can be a thankless job,but there should be more openness to this job all the way up to the top, Feds there in there own ego they don’t like city cops its true, but policing is them its tuff, there like the Maifa some criminals need to be in prison for life but we don’t do it so its hard to be a cop with these ass holes it changes u yes Bacca and his men were wrong, they need federal time 5 full yrs.
Shane Falco says
I was a deputy in the jails in the early 90’s and the deputy gangs like the Jump Out Boys, 2000 Boys, 3000 Boys, Vikings….and those guys who acted like Tanaka and Baca were a disgrace to the uniform. It’s nice to see these guys finally realize they aren’t above the law.
Tim Scottt says
Who “realizes” that? They are having their noses rubbed right in it and still protest that they did nothing wrong. And based on consequences they seem to be correct. Baca plead out to a couple charges stemming from blocking the investigation of decades of corruption, while claiming the actual corruption never really happened, and got SIX MONTHS. He’ll serve that in a halfway house, if not on home arrest, while drawing a gigantic pension for his efforts.
This punk also retired, and even though he took this to trial rather than plead out he will likely serve no time even if found guilty. And of course his pension is also going to continue as if it had been well earned.
Meanwhile, every deputy since the early 90s saw exactly what you saw…and did exactly what you did about it. Not a damn thing. “Good” cops one and all. Disgusting.
Shane Falco says
Tim, you should go to a website called witness LA. Many of us did speak out against the games and the culture that were developing inside the sheriffs department. You don’t know what we did or what we didn’t do.
One of the biggest issues in the 70s 80s and 90s was lowering the bar to gain entry to the sheriffs department. Deputies started coming in who couldn’t spell or use proper grammar and LASD was recruiting guys with minor convictions, guys form gang neighborhoods with gang ties in order to fill quotas. When there were problems with certain races of deputies being part of these gangs, they white deputies where just shouted down as a racist. Shouting racism has always been effective at silencing what the real truth is.
The problem was small but the cancer was allowed to fester and grow and spread.
Tim Scott says
I don’t know what you did, but the ineffectiveness of what was done is pretty clear, don’t you think? It’s 25 years down the line and Baca is serving six months.
Shane Falco says
Kinda like how you should have done something about that deputy that allegedly badges those cigarettes. You had video evidence of it occurring, could have testified under oath and could have reported it and potentially had his employment compromised and saved somebody from being enslaved.
Instead you just write posts on a website about just how bad he was…..and somebody else had to deal with him.
Tim Scott says
Well, as it turns out I was on the receiving end of assorted “I have a badge and gun and you don’t” style threats from the guy, even without compromising his employment…and I’m not so sure that “hi, I’m just a civilian, can I see the tapes from your surveillance system?” was going to carry the day. But your point is taken.
Mike says
One million cops go to work everyday.2 are bad.not too shabby.theres a bad person named tim on here, does that means all tims are bad?
Tim Scott says
LOL…TWO are bad? Are you referring to these two who rose to the top of one of the largest police departments in the entire country and had literally tens of thousands of underlings doing their corrupt bidding without blinking an eye? They are “the only two” that are bad as far as you can tell?
I regret starting out laughing Mike, this was grotesque, even for you.