Pandora's Box: The Fall of L.A.'s Sheriff

Introducing: Season 4 of Crimes of the Times

Here is a sneak peak at the new season of another Los Angeles Times Studios podcast called "Crimes of the Times." In the show, L.A. Times staff writer Christopher Goffard revisits old crimes in Los Angeles and beyond, from the famous to the forgotten, the consequential to the obscure, diving into archives and the memories of those who were there. This new season kicks off with a four part series about how an amateur codebreaker may have cracked the Zodiac killer's infamously complex Z13 code, and how the name it reveals potentially connects the Zodiac killer to another notoriously unsolved California murder: The Black Dahlia.

The Other Side of the Door: The Case Against Lee Baca

James Sexton endures weeks of solitary confinement in federal prison, as prosecutors finally gear up to take Lee Baca to trial. Baca’s lawyers claim he has Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s late 2016, and the recent presidential race has made the FBI unpopular in liberal Los Angeles. Sexton testifies for the government and is released early, a humbled man, to begin rebuilding his life. The jury deadlocks at Baca’s trial, only one wants to convict him, but prosecutor Brandon Fox presents a more fleshed-out case and wins a conviction in March 2017. A judge gives Baca a three-year sentence. In his late 70s, he goes to prison. Anthony Brown, in prison for life, wins a $1 million settlement against the county, while Leah Marx is promoted to the FBI’s behavioral science unit. The conviction of Sheriff Lee Baca marked a rare prosecution of a lawman at his level and closed a turbulent chapter in Los Angeles history. What began with a smuggled phone ended with the county’s top law-enforcement officer in prison. The series is told by Chris Goffard, whose reporting on Dirty John reached millions around the world. Topics in this episode include: Sheriff Lee Baca trial, Los Angeles jail corruption, James Sexton prison, FBI investigation, Anthony Brown settlement.

The Generals: Power, Deception and a Cover-Up that Goes to the Top

The feds interview Baca’s flinty #2 man and heir apparent, Paul Tanaka, who professes ignorance about who gave the order to hide Anthony Brown. In 2013, as the FBI probe enters its fifth year, feds finally get a chance to grill Baca. He touts his achievements as a reformer but admits he resents that the FBI excluded him from the jail probe and snuck in the cell phone. His answers are evasive and riddled with falsehoods. In Jan. 2014, as the feds close in, he resigns after 15 years as sheriff. Tanaka is convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Baca enters a plea that will give him a maximum of six months in prison, but a judge deems it too lenient, setting the stage for the sheriff’s trial. Their questioning showed how politics and power shaped Los Angeles law enforcement. What began as a probe into jailhouse abuse had reached the top of the nation’s largest sheriff’s department. Chris Goffard, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and host of Dirty John, explains how the scandal unraveled the careers of two of the county’s most powerful figures. Topics in this episode include: Sheriff Lee Baca, Paul Tanaka conviction, FBI interrogation, Los Angeles jail scandal, obstruction of justice.

Inside Man: A Jailer Turns Informant

James Sexton thinks Operation Pandora’s Box is behind him. When he reports a superior officer for misconduct, he is branded a snitch and treated as a pariah. Ostracized and scared, he does what he once thought unthinkable: he begins feeding information about the Sheriff’s Department to the FBI, and tells a grand jury about the scheme to hide Anthony Brown. In the U.S. Attorney’s first major thrust against the sheriff’s department, Sexton becomes one of 18 current or former sheriff’s employees to be indicted. Desperate to keep his badge, he decides the fight the charges, and his lawyer portrays him as the “Walter Middy” of the scandal, a man who exaggerated his role. Nevertheless, a jury finds him guilty and he begins his prison sentence. Sexton’s decision to talk to investigators opened a rare window into the inner workings of the Sheriff’s Department. His testimony about Anthony Brown tied deputies and supervisors to a widening obstruction scandal. The story is reported and narrated by Chris Goffard, the Los Angeles Times journalist behind Dirty John.

Gunning Up: L.A. County’s Top Cop Versus the Feds

When Lee Baca took over the LA County Sheriff’s Department in 1998, he inherited a scandal-plagued agency. He built a reputation as a progressive reformer, and his jail-education programs were celebrated. But the feds notice that investigations into his agency always seem to evaporate when he gets involved. By 2011, he is 70 years old and has run the department for 13 years. Furious about the FBI’s probe into his jails, Baca has Leah Marx surveilled. Two of his sergeants appear at her apartment and threaten her with arrest. Allegations emerge about the beating of a jail visitor name Gabriel Carrillo. The feds have expanded their probe beyond civil rights violations. Can they make a case for obstruction of justice? How high does the misconduct go? Baca’s clash with the FBI revealed how deeply the department was in turmoil. Allegations of intimidation and the beating of visitor Gabriel Carrillo turned a civil rights probe into one of Los Angeles’ most significant corruption cases. Host Chris Goffard, from the Los Angeles Times and creator of Dirty John, traces how the investigation escalated to obstruction of justice. Topics in this episode include: Sheriff Lee Baca, Los Angeles County Jail scandal, Gabriel Carrillo beating, FBI investigation, police corruption.