LOS ANGELES : Ex-Officer Gets Probation for Trying to Extort $2,500

A former Santa Ana police officer convicted of extorting money from a liquor store owner was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to two years probation.

Sang H. Masog, 36, demanded $2,500 from the Santa Ana liquor store owner in July, 1992, to intercede on the merchant’s behalf with the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department. The payoff was tape recorded by an undercover officer.

At the time, Masog was being investigated by the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, which had received allegations that he also was extorting money from business owners in Koreatown, Assistant U.S. Atty. Mark A. Byrne said.

Masog pleaded guilty last year to “extortion under color of official right,” which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.