American Notes

When Detroit police chief William Hart and his former deputy were indicted last February for stealing $2.6 million from the city, it seemed that the troubled department had nowhere to go but up. Wrong. Last week, after an eight-month FBI investigation, 11 current and former police officers and five civilians were charged in a scheme to provide protection for drug dealers and money launderers. Among those arrested: Mayor Coleman Young's niece Cathy Volsan-Curry and her father, Willie Clyde Volsan Jr. The pair allegedly introduced the cops to undercover FBI agents posing as drug dealers.

The FBI, which videotaped the sting operation, claims that police officers protected seven air shipments of cocaine and laundered money, besides escorting the fake drug dealers around Detroit in police cars. "This is a sad day," said police chief Stanley Knox. "It's only a few people, but it's going to hurt everybody."