World Notes Mexico

During six years as the police

chief of Mexico City, from 1976 to 1982, Arturo Durazo Moreno enjoyed the good | life. Although he earned less than $1,000 a month, he acquired two palatial homes (one a mountain retreat on the edge of Mexico City), a collection of vintage automobiles, and properties in Canada and the U.S. Mexican officials charge that he built his fortune by extorting millions of dollars from police officers.

The top cop fled Mexico in 1982, after his friend President Jose Lopez Portillo left office. Since 1984 Mexican authorities have sought to get hold of Durazo, who has become a symbol of widespread police corruption. That year FBI agents arrested him when he stepped off a private jet in Puerto Rico. Durazo fought extradition through the U.S. court system, but last week he received a final thumbs-down from two Supreme Court Justices and was sent back to Mexico City to face charges.