Feds: Philly officer sold drugs stolen by corrupt Baltimore police squad

[GennGreymane]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pe...-20171114.html

Federal agents arrested a Philadelphia police officer Tuesday, accusing him of conspiring with officers in Baltimore to sell cocaine and heroin seized from that city’s streets.

Prosecutors say that Eric Troy Snell, 33, earned thousands of dollars serving as a conduit between corrupt members of a Baltimore police task force who stole the drugs and his brother, who sold them in Philadelphia.

Investigators also have accused Snell of threatening the children of a Baltimore officer who pleaded guilty in the case.

His arrest is the latest in a widening police corruption scandal that has rocked Maryland’s largest city, resulting in the arrests of eight members of an elite gun task force there who prosecutors have accused of robbing and extorting drug dealers for years.

A Philadelphia police spokesman said that Snell — a three-year veteran of the force who had been assigned to the department’s 35th District in Northwest Philadelphia — would be suspended for 30 days with intent to dismiss.

Snell began his police career in Baltimore before arriving in Philadelphia in 2014. It was at the police academy in Maryland that he met Jemell Rayam, a fellow officer and his primary contact with the Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force.

The squad had been deployed to crack down on the proliferation of illegal guns in that city. But prosecutors now say that Rayam and several cohorts, including two commanding sergeants, used their positions to rob drug dealers and pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars uncovered while searching homes and cars of suspected criminals.

According to Snell’s indictment, the Philadelphia officer set up an October 2016 meeting between his brother, who is not named in court filings, and Rayam to arrange for the sale of cocaine seized by the task force.

After Snell’s brother sold the drugs, the officer allegedly deposited $1,000 in proceeds in Rayam’s bank account, keeping $1,000 for himself. Several similar transactions followed over the next two months, the indictment alleges.

Rayam, arrested along with six other officers in March, pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy last month.

But in recorded jailhouse phone conversations referenced in court filings, Snell allegedly pressured Rayam to keep his name out of the ongoing investigation.

“Snell told Rayam to ‘stand tall’ and said he would ‘keep an eye’ on Rayam’s kids, which Rayam perceived as a threat to harm Rayam’s children if Rayam told authorities about Snell’s illegal drug trafficking,” the indictment says.

Snell made his initial appearance Tuesday in federal court in Baltimore on drug conspiracy charges. It was not immediately clear whether he had retained a lawyer.

[Daedius]

Aren't confiscated drugs usually destroyed, after having served their purpose as evidence... ? Wouldn't such disappearance not show up in records?

[PosPosPos]

"Legal" robbery at its finest.

If you want a career as a robber, the most safe and efficient way is to be a police officer.

[Deleted]

Cops somehow have to make some extra - side money y'a know.

[Independent voter]

This like 150,000 cops in the US, is it that much of a surprise that there are a few bad apples?

[Doctor Amadeus]

Well maybe the money Philly raised went to after school programs for the kids. When life gives you lemons...

[PosPosPos]

This like 150,000 cops in the US, is it that much of a surprise that there are a few bad apples?

Your concern applies equally to two polar opposite scenarios: one being that the majority of police officers are corrupt and the other being that of a minority.

Which means, it holds absolutely no water as a cheap tactic that attempts to handwave actual issues.

"But chef, a rat just fell into the soup"
"This like 20 liters of soup in this pot, is it that much of a surprise that there are a few bad rats in it?"
"..."

[Independent voter]

Your concern applies equally to two polar opposite scenarios: one being that the majority of police officers are corrupt and the other being that of a minority.

Which means, it holds absolutely no water as a cheap tactic that attempts to handwave actual issues.

"But chef, a rat just fell into the soup"
"This like 20 liters of soup in this pot, is it that much of a surprise that there are a few bad rats in it?"
"..."

You're missing the actual story of the OP, these guys were caught. The system works.

[GennGreymane]

You're missing the actual story of the OP, these guys were caught. The system works.

The fed had to step in though

[SL1200]

Aren't confiscated drugs usually destroyed, after having served their purpose as evidence... ? Wouldn't such disappearance not show up in records?

Not if you just rob the drug dealers. Take their cash and drugs. Don't file charges. Sell the drugs. Repeat.

[oxymoronic]

nothing worse in the world than a police officer snitch. oh they gonna have fun with him. and he better get prison for this.

- - - Updated - - -

Your concern applies equally to two polar opposite scenarios: one being that the majority of police officers are corrupt and the other being that of a minority.

Which means, it holds absolutely no water as a cheap tactic that attempts to handwave actual issues.

"But chef, a rat just fell into the soup"
"This like 20 liters of soup in this pot, is it that much of a surprise that there are a few bad rats in it?"
"..."

not 20 liters... more like 200000 liters and yes you dont throw out the whole batch over one 8oz rat. fish it out and keep going baby

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The fed had to step in though

your point here?

[Allybeboba]

You're missing the actual story of the OP, these guys were caught. The system works.

Who caught these bad policemen? Let me guess...
The police...

[GennGreymane]

nothing worse in the world than a police officer snitch. oh they gonna have fun with him. and he better get prison for this.

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not 20 liters... more like 200000 liters and yes you dont throw out the whole batch over one 8oz rat. fish it out and keep going baby

- - - Updated - - -



your point here?

1. You prob should dump it unless the levels are allowable since rats carry nunerous diseases.
2. States and local law enforcement should know how to keep themselves in check. Good thing the fed took care of it, but it’s not like local would have acted