. >> reporter: mark lunsford was a 20-year veteran and worked for the drug task force. federal prosecutors tell us that dozens of d.e.a. cases and city drug arrests could be in jeopardy because of his alleged corruption. allegations of dirty cops rock the baltimore city police department once again. >> there's always a bad apple in the bunch and i think what's important is our commitment to holding people accountable. >> reporter: first it was officers murray and king who are serving 450 years in federal prison for robbing drug dealers at gunpoint. now mark lunsford is accused of stealing from the homes of drug dealers and taking kickbacks. >> i think the similarity is the egregious abuse of trust. >> reporter: federal prosecutors say he stole clothes, cash, even $18,000 diamond watch during drug arrests. they allege he worked as a task offerser for the dea and entered into a corrupt relationship with an f.b.i. informant. >> he provided misinformation, arranged for dea to provide rewards for the cooperation. >> reporter: out of the money paid out to him, he took kickbac

detective mark lunsford a cop more than 15 years and until recently assigned to a special drug force task that worked with federal agents. but a few months ago he became a suspect himself. >> the investigation began in june of this year when a confidential source came to the fbi and reported alleged corruption by detective lunsford. >> he is accused of stealing reward money intended to be paid out for information leading to the arrest of drug dealers. >> the allegation is that the scheme was essentially that detective lunsford would put in a claim, claiming that the source had provided information to dea and was due a reward. and that the detective lunsford then split the money with the source. >> also facing charges of threat. he is accused of stealing watches, clothing and play stations from crime scenes, or searchers. and agents they search for in his own home. case that is concerning for police and prosecutors. >> the allegations represent a egregious violation. >> lunsford is now on home detention as he awaits trial. and city officials say he is off the job. >> because he was ch

mark lunsford is a 16-year veteran assigned to a joint task force. court documents allege he took money intended for an informant even though he gave no information. >> police are investigating an accident involving an off-duty officer. sky team 11 was over the scene today. authorities said the officer was driving his personal vehicle when he suddenly lost control. no word on his condition and his identity has not been released. >> a plan to save millions of dollars without layoffs or furloughs. jayne miller has that story. >> everyone agrees that the public would notice the layoffs and furloughs, but how much and what is the alternative? government furloughs usually mean an agency closes for the day, but not so for city -- for fire and police departments. >> we don't want to compromise our role in responding to 911 calls in the city. >> the union president is trying to hold the city to a no- furlough clause. the union relies on a new estimate of how difficult and costly and actual police furlough will be. there are 1300 officers spread out and vario

stories abc 2 news is working on for you this morning. 39-year-old baltimore county police detective mark lunsford from stealing from drug dealers homes and getting kick backs after a payment. the fbi arrested the detective after they recorded secret conversation. he works as a task officer with the drug enforcement agency to get the money. >>> a 13-year-old baltimore girl is in intensive care this morning with the h1n1. virus in the 8th grade in northeast baltimore. she got sick in school on monday. baltimore sun says the girl was getting stronger yesterday. school system statement said the building will be thoroughly cleaned and according to the health department procedures are in place. >>> cut in california charles manson follower susan atkins who admitted killing actress sharon state 41 years ago has died. atkins who suffered from brain cancer had been in hospice care. >>> judge ruth bader ginsburg is in stable health. she was given fluids and take on the the hospital as a precaution. >>> this been will be a busy one if you are a horse racing fan and one of the big events is the 24th annual m

detective mark lunsford is accused of stealing from drug dealer's homes. the fbi arrested the detective after the informant secretly recorded conversations. lunsford, who worked as a task force officer with the drug enforcement administration allegedly lied to the dia in order to get the money. >> it is always a bad and until the bunch. i think what's important is our commitment to holding people accountable. >> my hope that people will recognize that the majority of law enforcement officers they deal with on a daily basis are honer inable money and women. >> it is alleged lunsford may have used city money to carry out the plot. he is on house arrest and will be back in court october 14th. >>> a traffic heads up for you this morning. you have probably heard kim brown mention this or maybe she is twittering about it. streets in mount vernon are blocked off for the baltimore book festival. this happens every year. the event kicks off today at noon. it is free and fun. "good morning america" work place contributor tory johnson will be there sharing advice fro

>>reporter: well, detective mark lunsford is a baltimore city police officer who was assigned with a special drug task force. so he often worked with federal agents to try and catch suspected drug dealers. but few months ago he became a suspect himself after the feds got a tip regarding corruption. lunsford was accused of stealing expensive jewelry during some searches including a diamond watch. so federal agents conducted a raid of his home to search for the items. perhaps even bigger concern is that lunsford was also allegedly working within form antis to steal reward money on some cases. >> the scheme was essentially that detective lunsford would put in a claim, claiming the source had provided information to dea and was due a reward and detective lunsford split the money with the source. >>reporter: now if convicted on all charges lunsford could face up to 20 years in a federal prison. in the mean time he's been placed on a home monitoring system and he has been suspended which the baltimore city police department. they will be conducting their own internal affairs investigation.

>> reporter: mark lunsford was arrested by the fbi last night.faces three felony charges of false claims, false statements and theft of property. this basically is an officer authorities say who shook down drug dealers and took kickbacks. his arrest though came thanks to an fbi source who recorded conversations. according to the affidavit lunsford who was also working with the drug enforcement agency task force got into a corrupt relationship with the source and paid that person $9,000 in dea money, $4,500 he took as a kickback for himself.

mark lunsford was a task force officer for the dea trafficking. read a criminal complaint alleges that the 16-year veteran received items including clothing from a person who have just been arrested. he has not been convicted of a crime and is scheduled to be back in court next month. >> we will be clearing by this afternoon, variably cloudy, seventies, right where we should be read the breeze is helping to get the humidity out of here. we have an issue. the front as god to slide to our south but reemerged tomorrow. -- fred is going to slide to our south but reemerged tomorrow. it will get through here saturday night. cooler than normal tomorrow. >> thank you, and thank you for joining us. we bought another update at 9:55. 9:55. the art of getting clean salsa doesn't stand a chance against the power of wisk®. wisk®. powerfully clean. perfectly priced. ♪ when somebody needs you, it's no good unless he needs you all the way ♪ >>> we're talking harry connick jr., out once again with a new album. he's going to be here to celebrate that with a live per

. >> reporter: mark lunsford's daughter jessica was raped and killed in 2005 by a convicted sex offendersex offender registry isn't going to keep your kids safe. >> are you living next to a sex offender? at the national sex offender public website, you can find out. i put in the address of where i grew up in miami and found out there are 100 offenders living within five miles of my childhood home. nationally there are more than 600,000 sex offenders. some believe a problem that big demands a tougher approach. >> and according to the group family watchdog, which tracks sex offenders by state, the typical sex predator will assault 117 times before being caught. maggie? >> beyond disturbing. thank you. >>> joining us right now is a victim of phillip garrido. nearly 33 years ago, catherine callaway hall was abducted and raped by him. thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> most of us just heard this name for the first time a couple of days ago. but this is a name and a face that has haunted your nightmares for 33 years. you were watching tv last week, you hear his name you s

. >>> detective mark lunsford was assigned to a special task force and often worked with federal agentsis facing three criminal comarnlings and ucharges and upn prison if convicted. >>> my challengers for this week's pigskin predictions might have a leg up on me when dancing. the rockettes are known for spreading christmas cheer. let's see what they know about football. hello, ladies. >> you know football? >> yes, they do. this could be hard. >> cleveland browns and the baltimore ravens. >> ravens. >> ravens it is for both of us, i'm going with the ravens, of course, they're on a winning streak and we want to keep that. >>washington red kins at he detroit lions? >> i'm going it say redskins. >> i think if you know the detroit lions record, the skins are an easy pick. we are all going with the redskins again. >> pittsburgh steelers at cincinnati bangles. >> steelers. ain't going with the steelers. but this game could be closer than people think it might. cincinnati had a goodwin against green bay. they're coming on strong. steelers always seem to beat up on the bangles. do i want to go w