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In later years, He left Portland and served five years with the Gresham Police
Department (Oregon), commanding both Patrol and Investigations Divisions. He retired in 2002. Tercek is a graduate of University
of Portland and of Northwestern University, School of Police Staff and Command.” Ray Tercek is the author of The
Investigation of Pepe Chavez et al.
According to the book description of The Investigation of Pepe Chavez
et al., “In the early 1980s, Portland Police Sergeant Ray Tercek helped launch one of the nation’s
largest drug trafficking conspiracy investigations—something he didn’t initially set out to do. When a small investigation
into the activities of known cocaine trafficker Jose “Pepe” Chavez revealed a larger criminal conspiracy, it was
apparent to Tercek and his team that traditional buy-bust methods of drug investigation would be ineffective to bring down
the entire organization. As a result, Presidential Task Force NW-OR-001 was formed. However, catching Chavez and his chief
co-conspirator, James Barnard, would not be cut-and-dry. Tercek’s efforts would be complicated by the internal politics
of his own police bureau.
The Investigation of Pepe Chavez, et al., is Tercek’s account of how a rookie
sergeant with a new style of investigation led his team through the dirty underworld of adult entertainment shops and into
the high-octane world of NHRA drag racing to catch their suspects. Tercek, along with Lead Investigator Mickey Guinn, DEA
Agent Ray Moffett, and the rest of Task Force NW-OR-001, took down a conspiracy that moved drugs from South America through
Mexico into several western states including Arizona, California, Washington, and Oregon. Tercek’s narrative provides
an introspective look at the mechanics of a historical conspiracy method of investigation and exposes the behind-the-scenes
political wrangling that threatened to defeat the investigation at every turn.”
When
Police and Politics Collide is the
second of the series The Investigation
of Pepe Chavez et al. In the early
1980s, then Portland Police Sergeant
Ray Tercek helped launch one of the
nation s largest drug trafficking
conspiracy investigations. When Police
and Politics Collide details the
second phase of the investigation, a
secret federal grand jury
investigation of the higher echelons
of the criminal organization. It all
ended in a scandalous internal fallout
in the City of Portland when a
Portland Police Officer leaked
investigative secrets. And that's when
the true-crime story digressed to a
tangent. Politicians threw
bureaucratic obstruction into the path
of the investigation. Why? Because the
offending officer was married to the
Chief of Police.
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