L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca gives details of FBI sting

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Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, responding to federal investigations of jailhouse abuse, for the first time offered a detailed account of an FBI undercover sting that caught one of his deputies allegedly smuggling a cellphone to an inmate.

In an interview with The Times, Baca revealed that the inmate working as an FBI informant inside Men's Central Jail was using pay phones there to contact agents probing allegations of deputy misconduct. The agents tried to dissuade him from using a jailhouse line, telling him they could be monitored by sheriff's officials. The agents promised to get their informant a cellphone, Baca said, and the inmate volunteered that he knew of a deputy willing to smuggle contraband for cash.

Baca confirmed that federal authorities targeted that deputy in an undercover sting. FBI operatives brought $1,500, Baca said, and the deputy agreed to go through with the deal.

Baca said the cellphone was delivered, and the inmate used it to contact his federal handlers and another source whom Baca declined to identify.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-baca-jails-20110929,0,7405436.story