High-ranking officials of the University of California system had known of alleged abuses at UCLA but waited one year before launching an investigation into the illegal sale of donated body parts, it was reported in a newspaper Tuesday.

State health inspectors in February 2003 warned university officials about the possible misuse of donated bodies at UCLA and about Ernest V. Nelson, a body parts dealer, The Los Angeles Times reported, citing correspondence released by the state Department of Health Services.

UCLA began its investigation last month and has held off accepting additional bodies donated for research after the arrests of Henry G. Reid, director of UCLA's Willed Body Program, and Nelson -- not a university employee -- for dealing in stolen body parts. Both men were released after posting bail.

State investigators became suspicious of Nelson after receiving tips that he had kept the bodies in his garage and falsely claiming they had had been screened for infectious diseases.

Nelson "may be misrepresenting an association with the University of California," Tom Tempske, a laboratory examiner with the department, wrote to University of California officials in February 2003.

Tempske also wanted to know if Nelson "now or ever has obtained" cadaver parts from any of the university system's programs.

That initial inquiry prompted a meeting with university officials and state investigators weeks later.

UCLA officials have alleged that Reid sold body parts to Nelson, who resold them to corporations for a profit.

University of California officials said they questioned Reid about his relationship with Nelson. They said Reid had promised to recover the parts given to Nelson.

"The basic problem is that we essentially had a double agent working against us," Lavonne Luquis, a UC system spokeswoman, said Monday of Reid. "He was saying, 'I'm going to deal with this.' "

Search warrant documents show that Keith Lewis, another employee of the UCLA program who is on leave and has not been accused of a crime, told university attorneys that he received money for helping Nelson cut up cadavers.

Lewis said he had once prepared 10 heads for Nelson and twice received $1,000 to $2,000, according to UCLA police.

Lewis declined to comment to the Times.

The Department of Health Services began looking into the illegal use of cadavers in 2001, when it was investigating the alleged improper sale of body remains by a Riverside County crematory. After the arrest of the crematory's operator, Nelson's name arose as the man who was believed to have sold body parts to the operator's former clients.

According to affidavits, Nelson's dealings also were traced to NuVasive Inc., a San Diego County company that purchased from Nelson body parts that were not tested for infectious diseases and came with fraudulent documents.

NuVasive executive vice president Keith Valentine said the company returned the body parts to UCLA once it learned about the falsified records.