![]() ![]() “We rely on law enforcement officers to uphold their oaths to faithfully serve their communities. “Cases involving corrupt public officials – and particularly those involving crimes allegedly committed by police officers – are among the most difficult and troubling matters we see,” said United States Attorney Nicola T. This conduct forms the basis for the false statements charge alleged in the complaint. Balian not only knew Hispanic gang members, including Loza, he also “texted them, provided them pre-paid cellular phones, and met with them in person,” the affidavit states.ĭuring a fourth interview in October 2017 with an HSI agent and an FBI task force officer, Balian allegedly lied, among other things, about previously having met Loza, the complaint alleges. The complaint also accuses Balian of lying during an August 2017 interview with authorities who asked about his receipt of money from the informant and Balian’s relationships with several Hispanic gang members. According to the affidavit, not only did the informant report paying Balian to locate two men who may have stolen property from the informant’s office, Balian sought to obtain information about one of the men from a deputy United States marshal, and text messages between the informant and Balian documented the arrangement. The complaint alleges that Balian lied to mislead investigators about his relationship with a gang member – Jose Loza, a Mexican Mafia member and the “shotcaller” of the Canta Ranas street gang, who is currently facing federal racketeering charges – even though at the time “Balian was communicating with Loza via a burner cell phone to discuss jointly undertaken criminal activities.”ĭuring a second interview in June 2017 with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General, Balian allegedly lied about accepting money to locate individuals who may have been associated with a burglary at the offices of a convicted felon who later became an informant. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, as well as officers with the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Glendale Police Department, the Burbank Police Department and the California Department of Health Care Services.Īccording to the complaint, which was filed Monday and unsealed after his arrest, Balian was interviewed by several law enforcement agencies over a six-month period in 2017 and repeatedly made false statements and misrepresentations about his links to criminal figures.įor example, Balian lied during an April 2017 interview with an FBI agent and Los Angeles Police detectives “in an effort to hide his associations and criminal collaborations with gang members, the Mexican Mafia and Armenian organized crime,” according to an affidavit signed by a special agent with HSI. The case against Balian is the result of an ongoing investigation by the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force, which is made up of special agents with U.S. Balian, who is charged in a criminal complaint with making false statements to investigators during an interview last year, is expected to make his initial appearance Wednesday afternoon in U.S. LOS ANGELES – Agents and officers associated with a multi-agency organized crime task force this afternoon arrested a Glendale (Calif.) Police officer on federal charges of making false statements during interviews with investigators who were probing his connections to the Mexican Mafia and Armenian organized crime.ĭetective John Saro Balian, 45, of Seal Beach, Calif., was taken into custody without incident at his residence.
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