The arrests “are the result of Operation Guard Shack, the largest police corruption investigation in the history of the FBI,” the statement read.
“Close to 750 FBI agents were flown in to Puerto Rico from across the country to assist in the arrests” early Wednesday.
A total of 129 people including 60 Puerto Rican police officers, 16 municipal police, 12 prison officials, three Puerto Rico National Guard soldiers, and two US army officers, have been arrested.
*****
Now this is impressive and bravo to the FBI for pulling it off. And from the looks of it, this thing looks like a Grenada style island invasion with FBI agents flown in from across the country for this operation!
On the down side, I had no idea that things were this bad in Puerto Rico? They also nabbed some military folks in this sweep, to include two Army officers.
I would also guess that they had some serious undercover operations going on all over the island? Which would not be too difficult if you were able to insert a few agents in some key departments. Plus the whole Serpico Effect might have been in play as well. Guys who see what is going on around them, and ‘have the courage to do what is right’ and turn in these crooked cops. With that said, I am sure a book or published studies about this operation will come out in the near future. –Matt
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133 charged in FBI anti-graft sweep in Puerto Rico
October 6, 2010
WASHINGTON — US officials Wednesday unveiled the FBI’s largest ever police corruption sweep saying 133 police, prison guards and army officers have been charged in a huge anti-graft crackdown in Puerto Rico.
The suspects face charges relating to posessing and distributing cocaine, and using firearms during a drug trafficking offense, the US Department of Justice said in a statement.
The arrests “are the result of Operation Guard Shack, the largest police corruption investigation in the history of the FBI,” the statement read.
“Close to 750 FBI agents were flown in to Puerto Rico from across the country to assist in the arrests” early Wednesday.
A total of 129 people including 60 Puerto Rican police officers, 16 municipal police, 12 prison officials, three Puerto Rico National Guard soldiers, and two US army officers, have been arrested.
Four others remain at large.
The indictments result from 125 undercover drug stings conducted by FBI agents in Puerto Rico between July 2008 and September 2010.
The defendants’ participation “consisted of providing armed protection to a drug dealer during the sale of multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine.”
If convicted the defendants face sentences “ranging from 10 years, up to life in prison,” the DOJ statement read.
“The Justice Department?s commitment to rooting out and eradicating alleged corruption in our law enforcement ranks has never been stronger,” said US Attorney General Eric Holder.
Puerto Rico is a Spanish-speaking Caribbean archipelago and US territory, which lies east of the Dominican Republic.
Story here.
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OPERATION GUARD SHACK
Historic Takedown in Puerto Rico
10/06/10
Early this morning the FBI launched a massive public corruption takedown in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as our agents fanned out across the island to begin arresting 133 subjects—the majority of them police officers.
In what is likely the largest police corruption case in the FBI’s history, nearly 1,000 Bureau personnel from 50 of our 56 field offices were in San Juan for the takedown.
By late morning, as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney for Puerto Rico Rosa Rodriguez-Velez, and FBI officials were announcing the operation at a press conference in Washington, members of our Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and SWAT operators had already arrested 129 subjects in a seamless and successful operation.
Those charged with drug trafficking crimes and the use of a firearm in the commission of those crimes include 61 officers from the Puerto Rico Police Department, 16 officers from other municipal police departments, a dozen Puerto Rico Department of Corrections officers, members of the National Guard, and two U.S. Army soldiers. They all face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
“The actions of these individuals proved they were not worthy of the title of public servant,” said Luis Fraticelli, special agent in charge of our San Juan office. “They violated the public’s trust by using their authority for personal gain.”
The case, dubbed Operation Guard Shack, began more than two years ago, when then-FBI Special Agent Jose Figueroa Sancha began an investigation into corrupt San Juan police officers.
One of our undercover agents posing as a dealer selling multiple kilos of cocaine put the word out that he needed security during drug deals. Many of those who responded were cops. They actively took part in the transactions by carrying weapons and patting down the drug buyers—who were actually FBI informants. For their protection efforts, the cops were paid between $500 and $4,000 for each drug deal. In all, more than $500,000 was paid in protection money.
The operation began at 3 a.m., when 65 tactical teams hit the streets. But the takedown represented the work of more than just HRT and SWAT. On hand were a range of Bureau personnel—crisis negotiators, evidence response team members, canines and their handlers, and some 80 medical personnel from first responders and nurses to a trauma surgeon and a veterinarian.
And none of those people or their equipment—including armored Humvees, helicopters, and 250 rental cars—would have been in place if not for the logistical experts who worked around the clock in the days leading up to the takedown.
“A lot of planning went into this,” Fraticelli said, “and a lot of very capable people ‘what if’d’ the operation in every conceivable way.”
“This case sends a powerful message,” said Special Agent Alex Zappe, who worked the investigation from the beginning. “Corruption among our public officials—especially police officers—cannot be tolerated.”
Story here.