A yearlong probe into alleged wrongdoing by Los Angeles parole agents produced no disciplinary action because corrections officials failed to act within the statute of limitations, it was reported May 28.
Some of the parole agents suspected of wrongdoing were honored last week on the steps of the Capitol by the Department of Corrections, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Corrections Director Jeanne Woodford told The Times she has asked the inspector general's office, an independent watchdog for prisons, to find out whether officials intentionally delayed acting on evidence in the parole agents' case until it was too late to discipline them.
Brett Morgan, chief deputy inspector general, declined to spell out what was under investigation but said the inquiry's findings would be presented to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Legislature and Roderick Q. Hickman, the governor's secretary of youth and adult corrections, The Times reported.
The initial investigation into possible misconduct by four Los Angeles-based agents and supervisors on the Fugitive Apprehension Team also has raised allegations of a coverup in the prison system, according to The Times.
Begun in the spring of 2003, the investigation focused on two issues: Did agents improperly dispose of drugs and drug paraphernalia seized from parolees, and did they violate policy by cutting deals with ex-convicts, trading information for leniency on parole?
Investigators determined the agents were not selling the drugs, The Times reported. What concerned them was that the agents appeared to be destroying the drugs and cutting deals with the parolees with the knowledge of supervisors, according to the newspaper.