LOS ANGELES — The former head of the nation’s largest sheriff’s department was the driving force behind a conspiracy to thwart a federal investigation into abuses within the Los Angeles County jail system, a federal prosecutor told a jury Monday.
‘‘This was Mr. Baca’s conspiracy,’’ Assistant US Attorney Brandon Fox said of former sheriff Lee Baca in his closing argument.
It prevented justice for inmates who were being beaten, allowed deputies to escape accountability, led to the hiding of an FBI jail informant, and drove attempts to intimidate a federal agent, the prosecutor said.
‘‘This is dirty from the beginning,’’ Fox said.
Baca’s defense, which has sought to blame the former sheriff’s top aide and other underlings, also made its closing argument. Attorney Nathan Hochman told the jury there is no evidence that Baca took part in a conspiracy and that the former sheriff had allowed the ACLU to monitor jails.
What started as an investigation into civil rights abuses of inmates by jail guards grew into a broader corruption inquiry targeting top department leaders when deputies found an inmate with a cellphone in 2011.
The FBI had the phone smuggled into the jail for the inmate to gather evidence of abuse.