Cops charged in cover-up

By Bill Lehane and Klára Jiřičná

STAFF WRITERS

Six people including four current or former police officers in Brno and an Interior Ministry inspector have been charged with extortion in a shocking case of a suspected organized crime gang operating within the police since 1998.

The six - one serving and three former officers of Brno's economic crime unit, as well as two civilians - have each been charged with blackmail, corruption and organized crime. They face up to 12 years in jail if convicted.

The suspects were arrested in Brno Aug. 2, have been remanded in custody to await trial in Ostrava, where the case is being heard to ensure its independence from those involved.

The offences suspected to have been committed by the gang involve 17 separate criminal cases spanning from 1998 to 2007, and investigators have admitted more incidents have yet to be uncovered.

At a closely watched news conference in Prague Aug. 5, senior officers faced the media to outline their investigation to date and appeal to the public for information, while also seeking to underline their confidence in the majority of police officers.

Police President Petr Lessy admitted it was "a sad event for the Czech police," in which it was clear that "a policeman had covered the crimes of other policemen," and highlighted how checks on police work by the Interior Ministry had also failed.

"The person who was supposed to supervise failed to carry out the control," he said.

Lessy said he still had faith in the safeguards in place to monitor police activity but pledged to verify these controlling mechanisms were in full operation within the force as a whole.

Robert Šlachta, head of the Organized Crime Unit (ÚOOZ), told reporters the investigation had first come about because of information revealed during interrogations for a murder case in the late 1990s that gave rise to the suspicion of police involvement.

Šlachta said subsequent investigations had shown two members of the group handpicked businessmen being investigated by their unit over economic crime before blackmailing or intimidating them, and even selling them details of police operations related to their cases.

"They offered the opportunity to influence the results of their own criminal investigation," Šlachta said, adding that police will have to reopen certain cases as a result of the revelations.

Šlachta agreed with Lessy that the key to the group's ability to act with impunity for so long was because one of its members worked at the Interior Ministry inspection office.

Following a long-running confidential internal investigation, police are now appealing to the public for witnesses to contact them on a new dedicated telephone line at 974 839 734.

"I call on everyone who came across this group to turn to us; we aren't afraid to take this to the top, and we don't want to sweep anything under the carpet. Otherwise, we would not be standing here right now," Šlachta said.

Petr Šereda, director of the department of economic and financial crime at the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Olomouc, told the news conference the case was being taken "extremely seriously," adding investigators were "ready to intervene at the highest police ranks" if necessary.

Despite this, he said he remained confident in the Czech police and justice system, pointing out the police themselves had uncovered the crimes committed by their fellow officers, adding he blamed "the personal failures of those involved in the organized crime" rather than the force as a whole.

South Moravian Police Chief Petr Kužel agreed, telling journalists he was convinced that "99 percent of Czech police are honest."

Kužel added he was glad charges had been brought in the inquiry so other officers would now have a chance to regain the confidence of the public.

The writers can be reached at news@praguepost.com