FORMER I.R.S. CRIMINAL AGENT ARRESTED ON CHARGES OF CONCEALING, COVERING UP ASSOCIATION WITH PROSTITUTES

A former federal law enforcement agent with the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations Division was arrested this morning in Puerto Rico on federal charges of concealing and covering up his association with prostitutes and the theft of his law enforcement vehicle by a 16 year-old prostitute.

Kenneth Philip Fazende, 44, was arrested this morning without incident at San Juan International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico by special agents of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the internal affairs unit of the IRS. Fazende was indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles on May 7, 2003. That four-count indictment, which was unsealed early this afternoon by a United States Magistrate Judge, charges Fazende with engaging in a scheme to conceal and cover-up his involvement with prostitutes and making false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001.

The indictment alleges that Fazende, while employed as a federal law enforcement agent, solicited prostitutes on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood and then brought those prostitutes back to his apartment in Hollywood to engage in sexual acts.

In June 2001, a 16-year-old prostitute that Fazende had solicited stole Fazende's unmarked law enforcement vehicle after Fazende left her alone in his apartment. In order to cover-up and conceal his involvement with this prostitute, Fazende reported to the Los Angeles Police Department that his apartment had been burglarized and that an unknown person had stolen only a case of compact disks and the keys to his unmarked law enforcement vehicle.

Subsequent investigation by TIGTA, the LAPD and the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that Fazende was involved with other prostitutes and that a second prostitute had stolen Fazende's personal vehicle in August 1999. In that instance, Fazende also reported to the LAPD that the vehicle had been stolen, but he again failed to reveal that he knew the person responsible for the theft was a prostitute that he had taken voluntarily to his Hollywood apartment to engage in acts of prostitution.

The indictment also alleges that Fazende showed his gun and badge to some of the prostitutes and falsely claimed that he was an FBI agent.

During the course of TIGTA's investigation into this matter, Fazende allegedly lied under oath and attempted to have his former girlfriend and another IRS agent provide false information to TIGTA. Fazende also allegedly attempted to explain his association with prostitutes by falsely claiming that he met one of the prostitutes during the course of a prostitution-related criminal tax investigation that he was conducting.

Fazende will make an initial court appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Puerto Rico. The Justice Department will seek his removal to Los Angeles to face the charges in the indictment.

If convicted of all four charges in the indictment, Fazende faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This case is the result of a joint investigation conducted by TIGTA, the FBI and the LAPD.