FOUR CHICAGO POLICE OFFICERS, FIVE

OTHERS, ARRESTED ON DRUG AND CONSPIRACY CHARGES

 

 

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of

 

Illinois; Richard K. Ruminski, acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago

 

office of  the Federal  Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Philip J. Cline,

 

Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) announced today the

 

arrest of nine men, including four Chicago Police Officers, on federal drug and

 

conspiracy charges. All of those arrested were taken into custody earlier today,

 

without incident, by FBI Special Agents and CPD Officers.

 

All nine were charged in criminal complaints filed yesterday in U.S.

 

District Court in Chicago with conspiracy to possess and distribute a controlled

 

substance (cocaine). According to the complaints, four CPD officers working in

 

and around the 7th Police District, which is located on Chicago's south side, used

 

their official position to obtain and attempt to obtain money and/or illegal drugs

 

from various drug dealers through robbery or extortion. These officers, working in

 

concert with each other, and others not identified, would conduct searches of

 

suspected drug dealers, including their vehicles and  houses, in an effort to recover

 

illegal drugs, money and weapons for their own benefit, rather than for legitimate

 

law enforcement purposes. The complaints allege that this conduct continued

 

uninterrupted from at least July through December of 2004.

The Police Officers arrested today are identified as EURAL J.

 

BLACK, age 41 , who is a 13-year veteran of the CPD; COREY A. FLAGG, age

 

34, who is an 8-year veteran of the CPD; DAREK A. HAYNES, age 35, who is a

 

9-year veteran of the CPD and BRODERICK C. JONES, age 34 , who is a 7-year

 

veteran of the CPD.

 

 

Also charged were:

 

THOMAS BRYANT, age 36, of 9528 South Troy, Evergreen Park.

 

STANLEY DRIVER, Jr., age 26, of 1639 East 84th Street, Chicago.

 

JOEL MONTGOMERY, age 31, of 1809 East 78th Street, Chicago.

 

JAMES WALKER, age 33, of 16400 South Wolcott, Markham, Ill.

 

JOSEPH E. WILSON, age 57, of 5330 North Western, Matteson, Ill.

 

 

The investigation leading to the filing of these charges, code named

 

"Operation Restore Faith", was based on information developed by the Internal

 

Affairs Division of the Chicago Police Department. The investigation, which was

 

worked jointly by the FBI and CPD, involved the extensive use of physical and

 

electronic surveillance, to include court authorized wiretaps of telephones used by

 

JONES, WALKER and WILSON.

 

"It's a sad day when police officers are charged with dealing drugs

 

and sadder still when they do so in an organized fashion" said Mr. Fitzgerald. 

 

"But every police officer who would dishonor his badge should know that there

 

are others who will hold them accountable. This investigative effort has shown

 

that the men and women of the Chicago Police Department and the FBI will work

 

tirelessly to weed out those in law enforcement who corruptly betray their

 

badges."

 

 

In announcing these charges, Mr. Ruminski said "For years now,

 

representatives of this office have been warning those in positions of public trust

 

not to use their office or violate that trust for their own personal gain. Once again,

 

that warning has gone unheeded. Today's arrests should serve to confirm the FBI's

 

commitment to aggressively pursue those who willfully choose to violate that

 

trust."

 

"More than anything, this case illustrates the Chicago Police

 

Department's unwavering commitment to rid itself of officers engaged in

 

wrongdoing, " said Superintendent Cline. "The fact that the Chicago Police

 

Department initiated this investigation and worked jointly with federal authorities,

 

underscores that commitment. The arrests announced today should send a clear

 

message to the public and to the Department's 13,500 honorable men and women

 

that officers who violate their oath of office will be held strictly accountable."

 

Those arrested are scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge

 

Michael T. Mason at 2:00 PM today, at which time they will be formally charged.

 

If convicted, each defendant faces a possible sentence of up to life imprisonment.

 

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.

 

EDITOR's NOTE: Copies of the complaints filed in this case

 

are available from the Chicago FBI Press Office at (312) 786-2645.