LOS ANGELES - They call themselves the Regulators.

They wear tattoos of a skull-faced man holding a shotgun, fire screaming from its barrels. They refuse to testify against their friends. They've been accused of extorting and intimidating those outside their ranks.

No, they're not members of a street gang. They're Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies at the Century station in Lynwood. And their "club" is part of a culture that's dogged the nation's largest sheriff's department for years.

A decade after the county paid $9 million to resolve a series of brutality lawsuits involving a different group of Lynwood deputies known as the Vikings, the Regulators are the focus of litigation alleging racism in the department and involving accusations that a group of deputies is behaving like a gang.

This time the lawsuit was filed by a deputy, Angel Jaimes, a Regulators member who alleges that black administrators in the department unfairly stalled his career by referring to him and other Hispanic deputies as the Mexican Mafia, a notorious prison gang.

Jaimes, a beefy 43-year-old who joined the department in 1989, said the Regulators are nothing more than a close-knit group of deputies, not exclusively Hispanics, who support one another and promote aggressive, ethical policing that keeps communities safe. Only deputies who work hard and follow policy are encouraged to join, Jaimes said.

"It's like the all-stars of a baseball team. You get the best," he said.

Jaimes would not disclose how many deputies belong to the group, but he says he was the 63d to join when he signed up years ago. They don't all still work at the Century station, which is staffed by more than 100 deputies.

Allegations of misconduct by Regulators have simmered for more than four years. Anonymous letters, purportedly drafted by deputies not in the group, have accused members of extorting money from other deputies, acting like gang members, and heavily influencing shift scheduling and administration at the Century station. But no allegations have been proved, Sheriff's Department officials say.

In 2003, the first of two anonymous letters was sent to Sheriff's Department executives about the Regulators. The letter referred to the group as the Mexican Mafia and accused Jaimes and another member of "strong-arming" deputies to contribute money for deputies in need.

"They don't ask for a contribution, rather they demand and enforce the payment of a set price," according to the letter, which was signed by "a concerned deputy." A second letter, mailed in 2004, said, "Something has to be done immediately, maybe a cleaning of the station to get rid of the gang mentality of the Mexican Mafia."

Members of the Regulators acknowledge that they raise money for deputies in need, including some who have been suspended without pay for violating department policy. But they deny ever pressuring fellow deputies to contribute.

Jaimes's lawsuit, which seeks to overturn his 2004 transfer from the Century station, has led to allegations of racial tension within the department and has shed new light on the culture of groups like the Regulators.

One of Jaimes's potential witnesses is Lieutenant Terri Williams , who has testified previously that two black Sheriff's Department executives told her they were concerned that Century station "was run by Mexicans and they were going to change that."

But many of the group's activities and members remain cloaked in secrecy. Deputy James Grubb , a longtime member of the Regulators, refused under questioning from Los Angeles County attorneys to confirm whether some deputies were members of the group.

© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.