Buenos Aires fraud cops held in extortion racket .
BUENOS AIRES , Argentina 1996-08-29
Thirteen senior police officers from the fraud squad of Buenos Aires province have been arrested on charges of running an extortion racket , security officials said on Thursday .
They included all the top officers from the fraud division of the north of Buenos Aires province , including Commissioner Juan Carlos Lago .
Police were seeking a 14th officer .
La Nacion newspaper said the officers were suspected of demanding bribes of $ 50,000 to $ 500,000 from companies being investigated for tax evasion in order to " lose " their files .
The credibility of the Buenos Aires provincial police , the largest force in Argentina , has been undermined this year by scandals that included the indictment of three officers for links to the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre and the arrest of an entire drugs squad for drug trafficking .
Alberto Piotti , security chief of Buenos Aires province , told local television that 3,600 dishonest officers had been purged from the force 's ranks in the past five years .
" It is an ongoing task .
And these investigations into police corruption are only possible because there are people brave enough to denounce them , " Piotti said , promising a major overhaul of the provincial police next month .