Duo Admits Selling Information to Rupert Murdoch's 'The Sun'

3:48 AM PST 3/8/2013 by Georg Szalai

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Ronnie Wood

The former police and prison officers are the first to plead guilty in an illegal payments probe as one says he sold info on Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood.

LONDON -- Two former British police and prison officials on Friday admitted selling information to Rupert Murdoch's The Sun, becoming the first to plead guilty in a probe into illegal payments by journalists to public officials.

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Both pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office, the Guardian reported.

One of the men admitted to selling information on the separate arrests of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and the mother of English soccer star John Terry, it said.

The two former officials will be sentenced in the coming weeks.

The duo was arrested as part of the so-called "Operation Elveden," an investigation into alleged illegal payments by members of the media to police and other officials. The probe has been carried out by London police, also known as Scotland Yard, in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.

In related probes, Scotland Yard has also been in charge of "Operation Weeting," which focuses on phone hacking, and "Operation Tuleta," which has been looking into criminal breaches of privacy.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com
Twitter: @georgszalai