Ex-Richmond cop linked to drug cartel sues federal government, wants 5,000+ pages on FBI investigation into him

https://ift.tt/33A6Rp4 A disgraced former Richmond police sergeant, fired after several local drug dealers accused him of taking bribes and other corruption, has sued the federal government for 5,000 pages related to an FBI investigation targeting him. Mike Wang, of Danville, sued the U.S. Department of Justice in June, over a public records request Wang made under the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, for documents related to a 2010 criminal investigation into Wang’s alleged public corruption. Wang was never criminally charged, but he was fired from the Richmond police department in 2014 for “multiple policy violations,” police said at the time. Most of the allegations came from Richmond-area drug traffickers, including some connected to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel, and others linked to a Contra Costa County gang called the Family Affiliated Irish Mafia, or FAIM, which is linked to the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. Wang’s suit, filed through the law offices of Michael Rains, accuses the federal government of dragging its feet on Wang’s FOIA request, after identifying more than 5,000 pages of relevant information. Wang’s legal team discussed the possibility of getting a slimmed-down version of roughly 850 pages, but negotiations fell apart, leading to the lawsuit, according to court records. Under FOIA, any person can make a request about themselves or request information about a deceased person. It is common for the requests to take years to process. Wang filed the FOIA request in March 2016, according to court records. Rains’ law firm did not return multiple requests for comment, and it is unknown why Wang is filing his suit, though his desire for the files could be a sign he wishes to attempt to get his job back. Wang filed an appeal to his firing in 2015, which is still pending, according to Richmond city officials. Earlier this year, Bay Area News Group filed a public records request with Richmond for files related to Wang’s firing, under SB 1421, a new police transparency law that publicizes records when an officer is fired for dishonesty. The city has postponed the request, citing Wang’s still-pending appeal. Meanwhile, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s office is still investigating criminal cases Wang was involved in. The probe, headed by the district attorney’s conviction integrity unit, is still pending. Fall from grace Wang was once a decorated police officer, assigned in the early 2000s to help lead an anti-drug task force that worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration. In 2004, Richmond police and the DEA investigated a meth and cocaine ring involving the Sureño gang, the Sinaloa Cartel, FAIM, and the Hells Angels. The group was connected to several homicides, including at least two in west Contra Costa County. But in 2010, the FBI launched an investigation into Wang, after several drug traffickers in the Richmond area accused him of taking bribes, directing drug trafficking, alerting them to confidential police business and even outing a confidential informant, who was later shot, reportedly by a man connected to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel. The confidential informant survived the shooting, but sued Wang and the city of Richmond, eventually receiving a $700,000 settlement, according to court records. In his prime, Wang worked with several informants, including a man named Sergio Vega-Robles, a Sureño member who was considered a point person for multi-pound shipments of cocaine and meth the cartel was smuggling across the Mexican/United States border and to the Bay Area. After Vega-Robles and several other members of the drug ring were indicted on murder conspiracy charges, Vega-Robles agreed to be a state’s witness. That’s when Vega-Robles dropped a bombshell, accusing Wang of taking bribes and agreeing not to arrest Vega-Robles and other drug traffickers. Vega-Robles accused Wang of money laundering; assisting in drug trafficking; warning his brother, Jose Vega-Robles, that he had a pending murder warrant; and alerting FAIM-connected drug dealers that authorities had installed a tracking device on their car. Vega-Robles’ decision to turn on Wang came about after Wang tried to seduce Vega-Robles’ wife, according to court records. According to an FBI document acquired by this newspaper, federal authorities conducted numerous interviews during the Wang investigation. Those interviewed included Sergio Vega-Robles, his former cellmate and a Richmond cocaine dealer named Anthony Hollingsworth, who testified as a defense witness in FAIM co-founder Coby Phillips’ 2016 murder trial, that Wang “had me selling cocaine” in Richmond. Phillips and Jose Vega-Robles were both convicted of murder in furtherance of a drug trafficking conspiracy. Hollingsworth told the FBI that Wang paid him a commission for selling methamphetamine in Richmond, and talked about wanting to start a meth lab in west Contra Costa County. He said Wang arranged deals involving methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine; suggested Hollingsworth rob a home that Wang allegedly claimed contained $100,000; and even asked him to “bump off” Sergio Vega-Robles after the two had a falling out. Hollingsworth said he replied, “Hell no,” to the suggestion that Vega-Robles be killed. One time, during a financial dispute between Vega-Robles and Wang, Hollingsworth asked Wang about a missing $8,000 and Wang replied that Vega-Robles “couldn’t count,” adding a disparaging remark about Mexicans, Hollingsworth reportedly told the FBI. The FBI also interviewed Wang’s counterpart at the DEA, Gina Giachetti, an agent who worked alongside Wang. She initially refused to talk to the FBI without a lawyer, then gave a statement saying she never witnessed Wang break the law. After her initial talk with FBI investigators, Wang began calling her and leaving “increasingly aggressive” voicemails, she later told investigators, but the calls eventually stopped. She asked to be informed if Wang was arrested, according to court records. But Wang was never arrested nor charged with a crime, though state and federal prosecutors both reviewed cases against him. Both the FBI and DEA declined to comment for this story. A Contra Costa County prosecutor said in 2016 the decision not to charge Wang was based on “statute of limitations” issues and other unspecified problems with the case.