"You're not going to catch him lying! infiltrated Death Row and heard rumors that it has LAPD working for its inner circle. Recently Fallen. ", "If [Poole's] information is true, serious charges could result, including indictments for obstruction of justice," says a Los Angeles County official who also asked for anonymity. In memoriam. "He's lying," says Lyga, who worked with both Perez and Mack a few years before the Rampart scandal broke. Now the D.A. Poole wasn't sure what to make of those claims until he served a search warrant at Officer Perez's home, where he found a cardboard box marked "CRASH, Secret, Confidential." OK - Feb 19, 2023. needed to know that. Menu. Hence, at the end of City of Lies, Poole and Jack only met with dead ends. That's the question nobody will address. Fred Miller See Photos Historian/Researcher at U.S. Army Corps Engineers Lives in St. Louis Fred Miller See Photos Works at factory worker Lives in Georgetown, Texas Fred Miller See Photos Fred Miller See Photos Works at Retired/Disabled Lives in San Francisco, California Fred Miller See Photos Fred Miller See Photos Fred Miller (fred miller) Both Mack and Muhammad were dropped from the case this month and have repeatedly denied involvement.Copyright 2005 Associated Press. Poole found that at least four lawsuits were pending against Rampart officers. they'd ask. Had Chief Parks listened to Poole that day, the LAPD might have cleaned up the troubles at Rampart before they became a national scandal. 'No.' Numerous witnesses have expressed fear of retribution from the LAPD, Knight and other LA gang members. But Poole's entire story had not been told. However, the media saw it as another act of a Racist Cop. "There's no way that can exist without a strong code of silence. "It was always, 'No, they don't want to go there,' and 'We just want to concentrate on this,'" says Poole. A research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, McNamara is author of the forthcoming book "Gangster Cops: The Hidden Cost of America's War on Drugs." Law enforcement experts outside the LAPD who were asked to review a copy of Poole's report told Salon it seemed solid and credible. But there is nothing concrete to tie us to the case.Shocking TestimoniesIts been a scintillating week of testimony, with a number of highlights, including testimony from former LAPD chief Bernard Parks and Kevin Hackie, a former Death Row security employee and LAPD officer who testified that his former boss, Reginald Wright, promised to get Biggie. Why would I try to do something to him? Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, At least 5 people shot at San Pedro beach, Safety concerns and weather conditions hamper San Bernardino County relief efforts, ICE detainees allege retaliation for speaking about medical conditions at Otay Mesa center, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, This is me, this is my face: Actress Mimi Rogers on aging naturally, without cosmetic surgery, California to alter COVID rules in healthcare settings: Masks and vaccinations not required, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, Hidden illegal casinos are booming in L.A., with organized crime reaping big profits, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, David Lindley, guitarist best known for work with Jackson Browne, dies at 78, This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids, Calmes: Heres what we should do about Marjorie Taylor Greene, Best coffee city in the world? Disclaimer: All statements made in the article are based on the film and are for entertainment purposes only. Sixty-five detectives at his division handled as many as 429 homicides in one year -- three times the workload of other divisions. CAPTION. Poole also learned that Gaines had ties to L.A.'s gang scene. On that September day two years ago, Detective Russell Poole, the Robbery-Homicide Division veteran who had sniffed out Perez and personally arrested him, met with LAPD brass to brief them on another investigation. Miller, . were professional rivals and also had a feud between them. It goes a lot deeper than that. An informant told Miller a man with a name sounding like Muhammad was the shooter, and Miller said he sent out for a drivers license mug shot of the Fontana mortgage broker.I thought the case was solved as soon as I saw that photograph, he testified. And a cop isnt anything but a man. Poole found three prominent shreds of evidence at his house, GECOs 9mm bullets (shots fired at Wallace), spare walkie-talkie (that helped to coordinate Wallaces murder), and Chevy Impala S.S. in the garage. Sources say many of these cops were guilty of crimes or had criminal associations the public will never know about because they were never brought to trial. A rapper with a smooth flow on the East Coast rose to prominence and built a brand for the New York label Bad Boy Records. Los Angeles. Jackson told him to close the case once for all and find closure in his life, but Poole wasnt ready to do so. Parks once ran the LAPD's Internal Affairs Division, so he knows the drill well. Where did all these crooked cops come from? Poole asserts his investigation into Wallaces death was cut short because then-police Chief Bernard C. Parks feared it would lead to unwanted revelations about the Rampart police corruption scandal. Who knows? Lyga urgently wanted to fight the suit, but city attorney James Hahn structured a deal so that the three plaintiffs -- Gaines' wife and two daughters -- each received compensation below the $100,000 monetary threshold that required City Council approval. After Rafa Perezs arrest, Poole believed that he would confess his part in the LAPDs corruption by saying just two words, Death Row. However, the insiders diverted the scandal to Rampart, which is considered the greatest scandal in LAPDs history, and implicated 70 cops of corruption. "The Dark Side of the Force: A True Story of Corruption and Murder in the LAPD." In the aftermath of the uprising, Parker was roundly criticized for having described the . SALON is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. Fred Cueto had been with the Los Angeles Police Department . Not with Russ," says Poole's former supervisor. Custom Content. One of the key supporters of the theory embraced by the Wallace family is Millers former LAPD partner, Russell Poole. Two masked accomplices of Mack's remain at large and the money remains unaccounted for. 's office, Perez acknowledged partying with Mack in Vegas after the robbery, but says he didn't know about his friend's crime.). TV Shows. has Poole's information. 1 suspect, but found nothing to tie Mack to the killing. They can't sift through dozens of interviews and put everything into context. Landsman also said that if Poole's superiors thought the report was not up to department standards, the proper procedure would have been to send it back to him to do it over. On Feb. 6, 1998, an additional 2 pounds of cocaine evidence, submitted by narcotics detective Lyga, had been stolen from the downtown Evidence Control Unit. ', "From Day 1, this investigation was always about containment, not about exposing the truth," Poole charges. All Rights Reserved. "No!" Poole began to feel that his clashes with his superiors were hurting his career. In fact, the D.A. "It's a very macho organization and it always has been," says McNamara. Copy embed to clipboard. [8] Randal Simmons, the first LAPD SWAT officer to be killed in the line of duty, on February 7, 2008 The city of L.A. reopened the case that gave the power to withheld the evidence that suggested their involvement in the felony. 'Dragnet' was straight up LAPD propaganda, on national TV for years "It isn't something that was formed by Parks." Poole claimed that Suge Knight, head of Death Row Records, was a gang member who played by street rules. That's why they had so many transfers at Rampart. Perhaps the most chilling admission by Perez was that he and his partner shot an unarmed gang member, paralyzing him for life, and then framed him for assault. Perez's credibility, which has already been seriously undermined by other witnesses, could be totally destroyed if these allegations prove to be true. Then Perez turned state's evidence before his second trial in September 1999, and Poole watched as the LAPD's pattern of protecting bad cops became a national embarrassment. One squad leader concluded: "You can only hope that everyone assigned to your squad will be of the caliber and character of Officer Poole. Their youngest daughter, Sarah, is our great-grandmother. Reached by phone after the court hearing, Parks, now a city councilman, said multiple investigations had failed to verify the existence of a photo. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); COPYRIGHT Digital Mafia Talkies | DMT. A string of police witnesses and informants over the past week disputed the familys theory. Requests for interviews with Chief Parks and other top LAPD brass as well as Parks' co-workers were denied. Creative Insights. After the beating, several Rampart cops showed up at the hospital where Jimenez was treated to intimidate him. "Have those cops been further investigated? In fact, Jimenez claimed Officer Hewitt beat him because he wouldn't find him a gun. VIDEO. Shocked and disturbed, Poole went to work on his report. An informant told Poole that Gaines and other cops were moving money and drugs for Suge Knight. And I didn't write half of what I should have in my report because I was ordered not to. quote: 14. Share to Tumblr. Those who complained were targeted for retaliation, Poole learned: Jimenez himself had been picked up without probable cause as retaliation for the filing of a prior complaint against the police. The Los Angeles Police detective who headed the investigation into the murder of Notorious B.I.G. In City of Lies, special agent Terrence Watts from the F.B.I. Officer Fred Miller | Randompedia | Fandom IAD investigators have a pattern of taking "compelled statements" from cops suspected of corruption, in which they are forced to answer IAD questions or lose their jobs. The FBI is not accountable like a local force. Heroism. The future earning potential of Christopher Wallace would be over a billion at the time of the investigation. I like Biggie. If you didn't get with the program at Rampart, you were crucified. Miller confirmed its contents yesterday. In fact, the LAPD and City Hall were burying embarrassing information about Officer Kevin Gaines. From Universal Cable Productions (UCP), Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. Throughout his tour with the Rampart task force, he charges, his superiors refused to investigate dirty cops, even when obvious clues pointed to them. And the shocking revelations keep coming. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. While Hollywood buzzed with the afterglow of the BET Awards, the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Notorious B.I.G.'s family against the LAPD resumes Thursday after a two-day hiatus. I interviewed and taped people and put together a solid criminal case, with everything documented. But the show he'd helped build also helped restore the LAPD's reputation. . Fred Dryer. Born poor to an enslaved family. Copy link to clipboard. wrongful death suit were sent home early after lawyers told the court Friday that they had received a dramatic eleventh-hour tip linking two rogue Los Angeles police officers to the rappers 1997 slaying. He's a guy you could really count on -- a solid, level-headed detective who does not exaggerate, who is extremely credible.". Poole went to an L.A. sheriffs department to reopen his investigation but suffered a heart attack. Worse yet, he watched as Parks took credit for "exposing" the Rampart mess -- a scandal that in fact might never have been revealed if Perez had simply kept his mouth shut and done his time. Is He Dead Or Alive? Not unless the D.A. All rights reserved. (Lyga remains on the job, having been cleared of any wrongdoing at two departmental board hearings. Poole turned up a credit card receipt showing that Officer Gaines had recently dropped nearly a grand for lunch at Monty's Steakhouse in Westwood, a Death Row hangout. Poole is the only Rampart investigator to go public with his account of how the LAPD handled the probe. "I don't even know who Lyga is," he told his interrogators. Mack was later convicted and sentenced to 14 years. didn't have all the information. The LAPD doesnt want to admit that some of their officers had something to do with it because that would shine a bad light on them.BET Host Cousin Jeff urged more mothers like Ms. Wallace to make the system accountable. To this day, Poole seethes at the memory of his suppressed report and the full-scale Rampart investigation it should have inspired: "I demonstrated a pattern of ongoing activity that needed to be investigated in its totality rather than individual incidents. They assigned him a new job to investigate cocaine bags disappearing from the evidence room. He died after that. Fred Miller, the lead investigator, told jurors that investigators pegged Knight as the No. They say Knights had his fellow Compton native, Mack, hire Amir Muhammad to shoot Wallace.Knight, Wallace and Muhammad have all vehemently denied being involved. McNamara says the LAPD suffers from an institutional, militaristic attitude about control -- of information as well as of the streets. LAFD Paramedic Fred Miller taught EMT Classes at LA Valley College in the Emergency Services Department for many many years. target no need to return item. Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti's office, which has for many months been preparing a conspiracy case against Rampart CRASH cops, also refused to comment on Poole's charges or its pending case. Overview A highly decorated detective, LAPD Russell Poole, suffers disgrace after he attempts to discover who murdered famous rappers Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, The Notorious B.I.G. He characterized Poole's allegations as "a mine in the water -- and the chief knows it. Why? Well, I know for a fact the D.A. testified Thursday that Death Row Records honcho Marion Suge Knight and not a rogue cop was the No. Retired Cop Implicates Suge Knight In Death Of Notorious BIG After he resigned, Poole attempted to go public with his story of the suppressed report, and the LAPD's failure to investigate cops, by going to the L.A. Times. They could have gotten him on 25-to-life. Fred A. Miller - The Relief He believes that Chief Parks has already circled the wagons. Jurors hearing the Notorious B.I.G. The police officials who attended his September 1998 meeting with Chief Parks will be muzzled, says the former detective. rejected that case until Perez spilled his guts," says an incredulous Poole. While everyone suspected Frank Lyga, Pooles investigation revealed the third tainted cop in the LAPD who worked for Death Row. Wayne Caffey told him there was a videotape that showed Mack and Perez present when Knight ordered a hit on Wallace. U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled earlier that the family members must demonstrate that Mack, acting in his police capacity, arranged the killing before they can press federal civil rights claims against the city of Los Angeles. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The videotape was not produced in court. All Images property of their respective owners. Earlier in the day, family attorneys tried to link Parks to their conspiracy theory by trying to get a police detective to describe a photograph of Mack, Perez and Parks daughter, who worked as a civilian police employee around the same time as the two officers. According to Poole, in 1991, after the racial killing of Rodney King, Rapper Tupac gave a poetic voice to the rebellion and to the rebellious generation. But Poole's investigation revealed something far bigger than the details of the Jimenez beating. Eighteen years later, neither Notorious B.I.G.s nor Tupacs murder has been solved, and Poole is still struggling to find substantial evidence. Other LAPD sources concurred. Good reason to deny your claim because no police report, more reason to sue. Share to Reddit. But months later, another L.A. Times reporter, Chuck Philips, wrote that the LAPD was in fact not looking for Muhammed. Officer Frederick "Fred" Miller is a supporting character in Sibling Rivalries.He is a police officer of the GBPD (Green Bay Police Department). Pooles theory was that LAPD cops helped orchestrate the murder of Christopher Wallace. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 's office many times on murder cases. Pooles seniors compelled him to drop the Death Row Pursuit. There, he watched quietly as Perez's first trial was bungled and ended in a mistrial in December 1998, and as the D.A. A Death Row insider informed Poole and his partner that Gaines and another cop, David Mack, were "confidants" of Knight's who were frequently seen at Death Row functions. Officer Rafael Perez, whose tales of police brutality, unjustified shootings and false arrests would later trigger the worst scandal in LAPD history, had been arrested two weeks earlier on charges of stealing cocaine confiscated as evidence. Nine days before Franks road rage accident, American Rapper, Christopher Wallace aka Notorious B.I.G., was shot 6 six times on the street.