To then-Sheriff Leroy "Lee" Baca, it was a sucker punch and a betrayal by the FBI, his longtime partner in catching crooks. Federal investigators deliberately kept Baca in the dark as they set up a sting on the sheriff's turf -- Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles. In an unprecedented standoff, the two mega-agencies did not communicate for weeks. Competing investigations ensued and seven deputies paid the price for overstepping their authority. The blowback began with a phone call on a Thursday evening in August of 2011. The head of the FBI in Los Angeles, Steve Martinez, was on the line for Sheriff Baca. Martinez told Baca that a contraband cellphone found at Men's Central Jail belonged to the FBI and was part of an undercover FBI investigation into civil rights abuses inside the jail. Sheriff Baca didn't take the news well. At first, he was confused. Martinez had to explain the situation three times before Baca seemed to grasp that the cellphone belonged to the FBI. Baca called Martinez back the next day, more "fired up," angry and upset that he'd been kept in the dark.
SHERIFF LEROY BACA: You know... I didn't start this fight, OK?
ASST. U.S. ATTORNEY BRANDON FOX: When you said just there that you didn't start this fight... who started the fight? SHERIFF LEROY BACA: Whoever decided to do all this and say that you can't trust the sheriff even!
SHERIFF LEROY BACA: The FBI doesn't have a right to break the law!
http://abc7.com/news/investigation-did-sheriff-lee-bacas-fury-push-deputies-to-break-the-law/707924/