Judge Is Told Police Shielded Fugitive

Federal prosecutors told a judge that while Chicago detectives hunted for a suspect in a gang murder, other police officers were helping him avoid capture. The extraordinary account of police working hand-in-hand with a criminal to prevent his arrest was detailed in a plea agreement signed by Nelson Padilla, a drug dealer who appeared in federal court to plead guilty. So far, one officer, Joseph Miedzianowski, has been charged in a federal investigation of a drug ring, which prosecutors say put an estimated $2 million worth of heroin and cocaine on Chicago streets. Prosecutors say Miedzianowski, a former Chicago gang investigator, started by making informants of gang leaders but then went into business with them.