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GREENSBORO — A letter from a City Council candidate accuses police of conducting coordinated break-ins of his and associates’ homes.

Jorge Cornell , an at-large council candidate and local leader of The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation, sent the letter containing the allegations to local elected officials, candidates and Police Chief Tim Bellamy .

“Nothing was broken and there was no sign of forced entry,” the letter says. “However, at all three locations people’s belongings were rearranged, with furniture being moved, a light being left on, clothing moved from the floor to the bed, etc.”

The letter, e-mailed to the News & Record, said the events happened Sept. 16 at Cornell’s home and at homes of two of his associates.

“We are suspicious that the Gang Squad may be directly or indirectly involved,” Cornell wrote, adding that the intent appeared to be “an attempt at intimidation of a local candidate and his close associates.”

The head of the police gang unit scoffed at the accusations. “As usual, it’s total stupidity,” said Sgt. Ron Sizemore . “It’s ridiculous. We don’t commit crimes in the police department.”

Attempts to contact Bellamy for comment were unsuccessful Saturday evening.

Sizemore said that Cornell’s actions appear similar to those of Antonio “King Tone” Fernandez, a head of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation in New York, who publicly supported community organization but was arrested and jailed under drug-related crime.

Cornell is an Inca, or leader, in the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation, a street organization often characterized as a gang.

In 2008, after calling for local peace among gangs in Greensboro, Cornell was shot twice several days later.

He also has asked for unity among Latino and African American communities in the city while asking that the police gang unit be dismantled.

In August, Cornell was arrested and charged with resisting a public officer at a downtown street event. A video of part of that arrest was posted online and at the candidate’s Web site.

Cornell did not return telephone or e-mail messages for this report.

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com