FBI Chicago June 24, 2013 • Special Agent Joan Hyde (312)
829-1199
A long-serving Chicago Police Department (CPD) sergeant was
arrested this morning by FBI agents for allegedly attempting to extort a local
liquor store worker. The arrest and charge were announced today by Cory B.
Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, and Gary
S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
Ray M. Ramirez, 49, of the 900 block of North Wood Street in
Chicago, who is assigned to the 12th Chicago Police District, was charged in a
criminal complaint filed this morning in U.S. District Court in Chicago with
one count of attempted extortion under color of official right, a felony
offense.
According to the complaint, the liquor store worker notified
the FBI that Ramirez had on several occasions taken items from the store without
paying, made demands of various store employees for money, and offered to sell
police reports and other information to the store worker. The complaint further
alleges that Ramirez made offers to speak to the local alderman on behalf of
the store worker in exchange for money.
The complaint describes a series of exchanges between the
store worker and Ramirez in April and May of this year in which the store
worker, at the direction of the FBI and as a ruse, requested criminal
background information on a purported new store employee and a license plate
check in exchange for money. The complaint further states that Ramirez
conducted both of the requested inquiries and that he received $200 upon
providing the results of each of the inquiries to the store worker.
Ramirez appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge
Maria Valdez, at which time he was formally charged. He was released on his own
recognizance pending his next court appearance, which is scheduled to take
place June 28th at 3:00 p.m.
Mr. Nelson thanked the CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs for
valuable cooperation provided during the course of the investigation and for
assistance with today’s arrest.
If convicted of the charge filed against him, Ramirez faces
a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of
guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until
proven guilty in a court of law.
Ex-DC Cop Sentenced on Counterfeiting Conviction
Updated: Monday, July 1 2013, 04:09 PM EDT
A former District of Columbia police officer has been
sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing her brother's identity and using
it on loan applications.
Jamell Stallings was sentenced Monday in Prince George's
County after being convicted of counterfeiting, identity fraud and theft.
Prosecutors say Stallings took out a $5,000 loan using her
brother's name and social security number. They say he also used his name on a
$13,000 automobile loan.
Stallings must also complete 500 hours of community service,
seek treatment for a gambling addiction and serve five years of supervised
probation.