Emmanuel Tavarez, 31, was a one-man crime wave. He was also a cop. Tavarez is facing trial after using his NYPD connections to run a crew that dressed up as officers and stole drugs and cash. An eight-year NYPD veteran, Tavaraz is responsible for more than 100 armed robberies of narcotics traffickers. Yet, despite what he agreed was “overwhelming evidence of his client’s guilt, attorney Raymond L. Colon insisted “[f]or all intents and purposes he was a fine officer. This was really an aberration, I think.”
Tavarez obtained NYPD police jackets and equipment for his crew to convince drug dealers that they were all police officers.
He now faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for robbery conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine, and the use of a firearm during the raids.
He might not want to push the business of being a “fine officer” and just focus on the fact that he pleaded guilty.
Source: CityRoom
