The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has knocked a hole in the wall of secrecy built up around federal law enforcement agency investigations.

In a 35-page ruling issued Friday, the court said Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue is entitled to information in a federal report that may show Department of Justice officials conducted a cover-up surrounding his brother's death in a federal prison.

The 10th Circuit rejected claims made by the Integrity Committee of the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency that a report reviewing allegations of misconduct in the investigation into the August 1995 death of Kenneth Trentadue was not public because it was a law enforcement investigation.

The Integrity Committee also had argued that the actions of federal agents, along with their identities, should not be made public, even if accused of misconduct.

"Each of these individuals was a low-level employee who committed serious acts of misconduct. The public interest in learning how law enforcement agencies dealt with these individuals is very high, and that information must be released," the ruling states.

Jesse Trentadue, whose family sued the government for wrongful death, claims his brother was killed during interrogation by the FBI, which, in a case of mistaken identity, thought Kenneth Trentadue was a suspect in the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that took the lives of 168 adults and children. In fact, Kenneth Trentadue was a California resident who was picked up for a parole violation and transported to Oklahoma for processing.

An official federal investigation by the Department of Justice concluded that Kenneth Trentadue's death was the result of suicide. But when family members received his body, the man was covered with bruises and blood.

Jesse Trentadue claims he ran across evidence that government workers had destroyed documents and encouraged witnesses to lie about what took place at the federal prison in Oklahoma City. Trentadue said the cover-up reached to the top of the Department of Justice's high-ranking officials, including the department's inspector general, whose job it is to police corruption within the department.

After appealing the DOJ's decision, which upheld the suicide finding, Jesse Trentadue appealed to the Integrity Committee, asking for a criminal investigation. The committee suddenly dismissed the claim and refused to explain why.

When Jesse Trentadue requested the committee's report under the Freedom of Information Act, what he received were 50-some pages of blacked-out lines.

In particular, 10th Circuit judges said they were concerned when they discovered that some of the information redacted by the government was clearly public information.

Jesse Trentadue called Friday's ruling a victory for open government, adding the decision extends beyond his case and will better allow citizens to watch-dog federal government.

"I think it has stripped away and gutted the law enforcement privilege," Trentadue said.

The 10th Circuit has ordered the case reversed and remanded back to the district court.

As for what is contained in the report, Trentadue said that until he sees those contents, it remains to be seen just how that information will help his cause.

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E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com