Two sources familiar with the investigation said that the officers were employed by the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments and by the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office. Another officer from a suburban police department also might be implicated, one of the sources said.
Meanwhile, St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington made public a letter he sent Tuesday to Ralph Boelter, special agent in charge of the Minneapolis FBI office. He asked that the FBI share the identity of St. Paul police officers who might be subjects of the criminal inquiry so he "can take the appropriate action to ensure the integrity of the St. Paul police department."
Harrington acknowledged to Boelter that his "request may be contrary to the interests of your investigation." Sgt. Paul Schnell, a police spokesman, said Harrington had not yet heard about Luger's plan to meet with the department.
Luger, a former assistant U.S. attorney, said he would not disclose to the public or the news media the names of the 10 to 12 officers who he said engaged in crimes, nor would he identify their departments.
Four committees of the Minnesota House and Senate will hold a joint hearing today on the Strike Force. Luger will appear before the joint hearing at 2 p.m. at the State Capitol called by committees with jurisdiction over the Strike Force. Also testifying will be James Nobles, Minnesota's legislative auditor, who issued a highly critical report on the Strike Force in May; Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner Michael Campion, who permanently shut down the Strike Force in July, and Bob Bushman, coordinator of the state's gang and drug task forces.
Rep. Debra Hilstrom, DFL-Brooklyn Center, will chair the hearing as head of the House Public Safety Policy committee. She said that in addition to reviewing Luger's and Noble's findings, lawmakers will listen to recommendations so that "this kind of thing doesn't ever happen again."
The Luger report found that some Strike Force officers seized property from people when there was no intention of charging them and took seized property for personal use, which is a crime. The information uncovered by Luger, who was aided by retired FBI agent John Egelhof, has been turned over to the FBI, which is conducting a separate investigation.
One recommendation of Luger's report was for lawmakers to consider revising state seizure laws. The Strike Force used seized money and resale of seized property to fund some activities, including a controversial trip by six officers to Hawaii for a conference on Asian gangs in March. Some officers also drove seized vehicles.
Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, said he will hold hearings on the seizure law in February. "Law enforcement agencies should not have to rely on seized properties to sustain their agencies," he said. "That's a recipe for disaster, because you just invite misuse of the law."
The Luger report did not say who was involved in wrongdoing and said nothing about Ron Ryan, Strike Force commander through all but the last eight months of its 11-year existence. He was a member of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office, the fiscal agent for the Strike Force.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, a friend of Ryan's, originally was critical of the legislative auditor's investigation, though he later acknowledged its value.
Since the Luger report was made public, Fletcher has declined requests by the Star Tribune for an interview. The only comment has come from Holli Drinkwine, his spokeswoman, who said, "The sheriff believes the behavior outlined in the report is appalling and egregious."
She also said: "The Luger panel has not advised us of any specific misconduct by any current employee. However, based on the report, we have opened an internal affairs investigation into one employee. Our investigation will yield to the FBI probe."
More from Minneapolis Star Tribune | Top of Page
Useful article? Use these tools to let someone know:
Send & Share | Print | Access RSS Feed for Syndication
