FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2008
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RINGLEADER IN BOSTON POLICE CORRUPTION CASE SENTENCED TO 26 YEARS IN PRISON
Boston, MA... The last of three former veteran Boston Police officers convicted of conspiring to protect the transfer of more than 100 kilograms of cocaine was sentenced today to 26 years in federal prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.
United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - New England Field Division and Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, announced today that ROBERTO E. PULIDO, 43, formerly of 57 Leighton Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, was sentenced today on federal charges of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and 1 kilogram of heroin, two counts of attempting to aid and abet the distribution of more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense.
“The law enforcement community is unanimous in its condemnation of the crimes committed by Roberto Pulido and his corrupt associates,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan. “The important lesson from this case is that the officers who were true to their oath – those who relentlessly followed Pulido’s trail of deception and corruption – brought these men to justice,” Sullivan concluded.
Pulido pleaded guilty on the morning of the fourth day of trial, November 8, 2007, after the Government had introduced extensive evidence of his corrupt activities. Trial testimony – and dozens of recordings – revealed that prior to the initiation of an FBI and BPD sting operation Pulido was involved in: identity theft, wire fraud, steroid smuggling, assault and battery, framing an innocent man, and running illegal stripper parties, among other things.
In December 2005, the FBI and BPD introduced an undercover operation in which they offered Pulido the opportunity to protect large shipments of cocaine. PULIDO readily agreed, and on April 23, 2006, he and fellow officer Nelson Carrasquillo protected a shipment of 40 kilograms of cocaine at a garage on Washington Street in Boston. Carrasquillo provided counter-surveillance and monitored Boston Police Department radio channels while PULIDO watched the cocaine transaction take place inside the garage. PULIDO and Carrasquillo were paid $20,000 for their assistance in the operation.
PULIDO, Carrasquillo and a third former officer, Carlos Pizarro, protected a shipment of 100 kilograms of cocaine on June 8, 2006. The three corrupt officers guided the truck carrying the cocaine -- with an estimated wholesale value of more than $2 million -- from western Massachusetts to the Washington Street garage. Once at the garage, PULIDO watched from inside, while Carrasquillo and Pizarro performed perimeter surveillance. The three men were given a down payment of $15,000 that day for their efforts and invited to Florida to collect the balance.
At a meeting on July 20, 2006 in Coral Gables, Florida, PULIDO and his co-conspirators were paid $36,000 – the balance due on a total payment of $51,000 – for their assistance in guiding and protecting the cocaine. They were arrested in Miami by federal agents a short time after taking the $36,000 payment.
Co-conspirator Carlos Pizarro pleaded guilty on September 10, 2007. On December 12, 2007, Pizarro was sentenced to 13 years incarceration and five years of supervised release. On November 5, co-conspirator Nelson Carrasquillo pleaded guilty. He was sentenced on March 10, 2008, to 18 years incarceration to be followed by five years of supervised release.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation - New England Field Division in cooperation with the Boston Police Department’s Anti-Corruption Squad. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. McNeil and George Vien in Sullivan’s Public Corruption Unit.
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