LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Deputy Pleads Guilty to Money-Laundering

A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty Monday to federal theft and money-laundering charges, admitting that he helped steal about $800,000 during a 1988 drug raid.

Stephen Nichols, 41, of La Habra Heights also pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to violating the civil rights of a drug trafficker caught in the drug raid when he lied to a judge about the circumstances of the case. Nichols also pleaded guilty to filing a false income tax return and an obstruction of justice charge.

Nichols, who faces up to 64 years in prison and a $2-million fine, is the 16th former narcotics officer to be convicted or plead guilty in a corruption inquiry of deputies who once investigated major drug traffickers and money-launderers.

Another former member of those elite, anti-drug teams--former Sgt. Thomas Gordon, 44, of San Dimas--recently was convicted in a similar federal case. Gordon was convicted May 7 of filing a false income tax return in what prosecutors say was an attempt to hide stolen drug cash. A money-laundering count resulted in a hung jury.