Ex-Bay Area Deputy Convicted in ‘Dirty DUI’ Case

A former California sheriff’s deputy has been convicted of helping a private investigator arrest men for drunken driving to help their wives in divorce and custody cases.

The San Francisco Chronicle says Stephen Tanabe was convicted Tuesday of conspiracy, extortion and wire fraud.

Prosecutors say the former Contra Costa County deputy accepted a gun from Christopher Butler to arrest two men outside Danville bars in elaborate stings known as “dirty DUIs”. Authorities say the private investigator was hired to tarnish their images.

Butler, who testified against Tanabe, was sentenced last year to eight years in prison for drug dealing. He was the center of a corruption scandal that resulted in convictions of Bay Area police officers from four agencies, including the former head of a drug task force.