Highland Park cop gets year in prison for one year in extortion case


Craig Clayton, a Highland Park Police officer was sentenced to a year in prison today for helping three other officers deliver a shipment of cocaine and pocketing a $1,500 cash payment for his assistance.Craig Clayton, 55, of Highland Park, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison before U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn after previously pleading guilty to extortion. According to the U.S. Attorneys office, Clayton had agreed with three other Highland Park police officers to help deliver a 4-kilogram shipment of cocaine and brought his badge and gun to protect the drugs. In exchange for his work, authorities said, Clayton accepted $1,500 in cash from an FBI informant.