Crime & Safety
Wielsch Speaks Out in Police Corruption Case
Former county drug enforcement chief apologizes in Diablo magazine interview.
If you're wondering about the motivations in Contra Costa County's high-profile police corruption case, there's plenty of good reading in the December issue of Diablo magazine.
In "Norm Wielsch: On the Record," Peter Crooks interviews the former commander of CNET (the Central Conta Costa County Narcotics Enforcement Team), .
Wielsch agreed to the interview as long as he had a chance to apologize to police officers, the California Department of Justice and "all citizens that trusted me with my position. I violated their trust."
Wielsch, 50, went to College Park High School in Pleasant Hill. His dad ran an auto repair shop in Walnut Creek.
In the interview, Wielsch denied profiting from the Pleasant Hill brothel. He tells the story of how for many years he has been depressed for many reasons, including coping with his daughter's battle with aplastic anemia.
He describes how, while commanding CNET, he became reacquainted with Chris Butler, a former colleague from Antioch police who had become a risk-taking private investigator in Concord.
"When I think about the crazy stuff Butler asked me to do, I can't believe what I went along with," Wielsch told Diablo.
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