latimes.com – By Joel Rubin, Cindy Chang and Harriet Ryan – In the jail abuse scandal that has roiled the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and resulted in the convictions of more than a dozen officials, one question has remained open: How high did the corruption go? Retired Sheriff Lee Baca admitted in federal court Wednesday that it went all the way to the top.
Baca, who left office two years ago, pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents and federal prosecutors investigating the beatings of inmates and visitors at the nation’s largest jail system. As part of a surprise plea deal with the U.S. attorney’s office, Baca acknowledged for the first time taking an active role in trying to stymie the federal probe, even allowing a team of deputies to confront one FBI agent at her home.
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