Two ex-police officer brothers, one from Long Beach, on trial now

As you read this, listen closely and you may hear the sound of a story being optioned. How could this one not be? It’s a natural.

Here’s the pitch: two brothers, both now former police officers–one formerly with the Los Angeles Police Department, the other with the Long Beach Police Department–are accused of being part of a home invasion robbery ring that allegedly targeted suspected drug dealers and their families.

We’ve spotted this yarn–now a trial in U.S. District Court–in the Los Angeles Times recently, but the Press-Telegram’s Wendy Thomas Russell essays it here.

The former Los Angeles cop is William Ferguson; the former Long Beach cop is his younger brother Joseph, and they’re accused of engaging in an alleged conspiracy with 19 other defendants, between 1999 and 2001.

William Ferguson, accused of being a primary participant–though not the alleged mastermind; that would be former LAPD officer Ruben Palomares–faces 36 felony counts.

Joseph Ferguson, who stands accused of acting as a lookout and a driver on some of the alleged robberies, faces 11 felony counts and is free on $1 million bail.

And–scene! The judge in this case is U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess, whom you’ll remember from such ongoing court battles as the Wilson High School gymastic students Title IX case (here and here). Does that dude sleep? Seriously, man, take a break once in a while.

For the film version, we’re thinking direction by Michael Mann, Leo DiCaprio as whoever he wants to play–and does it have to be Long Beach? Couldn’t it be a submarine?

Tags: "Snakes on a Plane", California, Joseph Ferguson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Long Beach, Long Beach Police Department, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Times, Michael Mann, press telegram, Ruben Palomares, Southern California, The District Weekly, Theo Douglas, Title IX lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge Gary Fees, Wendy Thomas Russell, William Ferguson, Wilson High School