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Monday, May 26, 1997

Houston slaying probe sheds light on police-informant relationship

HOUSTON (AP) - The husband of a woman fatally shot in her home is involved in gambling and was used as an informant by the vice division of the Houston Police Department, the Houston Chronicle reported Sunday.

In a copyright story, the newspaper quoted unidentified police officers who said they were bothered by the department's long relationship with Robert Nicholas Angleton.

"The department has protected (Angleton) for nearly a decade, and his business has flourished," the Chronicle quoted one of the officers as saying.

Unidentified sources told the Chronicle that the Angleton case, along with another involving a narcotics informant, has prompted plans for a review of how the department uses confidential informants.

Angleton's wife, Doris McGown Angleton, 46, was shot a dozen times in the head and chest April 16 in the couple's home on the fringe of Houston's exclusive River Oaks section. No arrests have been made.

Another officer, one of several who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Chronicle, documented to the newspaper that Angleton, 48, has been a bookmaker and registered informant for the vice division since 1988.

Angleton, reached at his home, said the officers' characterization of him was "more than likely incorrect. No such thing."

"I'm not saying whether I - no, I'm not a bookmaker, as a matter of fact. And registered informant, definitely not," Angleton said.

Assistant police chief Art Contreras, who oversees the department's vice and narcotics divisions, called informants a "necessary evil." He said Angleton is not paid for his work as an informant.

"He's been involved in that activity, as I understand, for quite some time," Contreras said.

Angleton's only local criminal record is a misdemeanor charge of soliciting prostitution in October 1984. He received six months probation, a $100 fine and deferred adjudication.

Two months before Mrs. Angleton died in what one homicide investigator said appeared to be a professional killing, she filed for divorce from her husband of 15 years.

Attorneys for both sides have described the divorce proceedings as amicable. Angleton received permission to remain in the family home until their 12-year-old twin daughters' classes end in June.

During the divorce proceedings, Mrs. Angleton had cash assets frozen that she said her husband kept in safe deposit boxes at several area banks, according to court documents.

Unidentified sources told the Chronicle that when the cash was divided, Mrs. Angleton's half was nearly $1.5 million.

"The reason (Angleton's) so successful is, he's put so many other, smaller bookies out of business," the Chronicle quoted one of the vice sources as saying.

Investigative sources confirm that a copy of Angleton's bettors' list has been obtained, that names on it are being scrutinized and bettors may be contacted by homicide investigators, the Chronicle reported.

The sources also said the Internal Revenue Service has begun a probe into Angleton's financial dealings. IRS officials declined comment.

In January, a narcotics officer was moved out of his division and suspended for 15 days without pay after it was discovered he took an unauthorized "vacation" trip to Cali, Colombia, and stayed with friends or family members of one of his confidential informants.

On Friday, an officer in the narcotics division who asked not to be named told the Chronicle that a review was expected.

"It's obvious we have some problems with the way some of the officers are handling their (confidential informants), and with how those relationships are being monitored," the officer said.Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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