A new detail has surfaced in an ongoing police corruption investigation that has rocked the Bay Area for the past year.
A woman who ran a Pleasant Hill brothel that fronted as a massage parlor alleged that she did so with the assistance of Norman Wielsch, the former commander of the Central Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement Team.
In May, private investigator Christopher Butler (the same private investigator who was accused of setting up "dirty DUIs") admitted to his role in the brothel. Butler alleged that Wielsch was also involved; Wielsch and his attorney consistently denied the claims.
But the new allegations from Jordi Simms, the woman who ran the brothel, have substantially weakened Wielsch's defense.
(SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO)
The San Francisco Chronicle obtained two interviews between Simms and state Department of Justice agents, in which Simms claimed that she provided both Wielsch and Butler with substantial weekly payments to protect the brothel from police raids. Simms also alleged that she and Wielsch shared a sexual encounter because she wanted to "thank him" for his protection.
Simms also claimed that she received leniency on a prostitution charge -- leniency that she said "would never have been provided if it weren't for the friendship of Butler and Wielsch."
The allegations are the latest in the corruption investigation of Wielsch and Butler, who were indicted by a federal grand jury for corruption and extortion charges. Both pleaded not guilty. Diablo magazine broke the story on Butler in 2010, while the writer was researching a profile on Butler's private investigation business.
Sound like an episode of Dr. Phil? It is. Literally.
In February, Dr. Phil highlighted Butler in a 42-minute special about his private investigation ring -- a juicy expose that included DUI set-ups, soccer mom sex decoys and police corruption. Though Butler did not appear on the episode, Wielsch participated in an interview in which he admitted to stealing confiscated marijuana from the Police Department.
"I somehow agreed to it. I don't understand why," said Wielsch in the interview. "I cry about it every day. I shamed my family, I shamed my department, I shamed law enforcement. I violated their trust. I have no one to blame but myself."
Watch a preview from the Dr. Phil episode in the video below: