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.
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.
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