LOS ANGELES (AP) - A former Los Angeles-area police officer who helped the Mexican Mafia and Armenian organized crime has been sentenced to federal prison.
John Balian received a 21-month-sentence on Friday. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to bribery, obstruction of justice and lying.
Under a plea agreement, Balian acknowledged that while he was a Glendale police officer, he tipped off Mexican Mafia members that authorities were planning to arrest a high-ranking member of an associated gang, allowing the man to escape arrest for a month.
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He also repeatedly lied to federal agents about his relationships with the prison gang and Armenian criminals.
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