8 in NYC accused of torturing, robbing drug dealers
alligcold said
21:57 05/06 2008
NEW YORK - A gang of police impersonators abducted and tortured cocaine traffickers, forcing them to hand over multimillion-dollar stashes by holding their families hostage or threatening to squeeze their testicles with pliers, authorities said Tuesday.
An indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn charged eight men with robbery conspiracy, drug dealing and an array of other crimes.
Since the spring of 2003, the gang injured about 100 people while committing 100 holdups targeting large-scale traffickers in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida, investigators said.
The take: $4 million in cash and more than 1,650 pounds of cocaine worth $20 million, which authorities say the men sold on the streets of New York. Sometimes abduction attempts led to shootouts between the robbery crew and associates of the drug dealers, authorities said.
The scheme "was breathtaking in the scope of its crimes and in the danger it posed to our communities," said U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell.
Authorities seized several kilograms of cocaine, more than 20 handguns, handcuffs, police scanners and vehicles equipped with lights and sirens.
The men, court papers said, "were particularly sophisticated in their tactics," often conducting surveillance on the drug dealers for weeks before arming themselves with handguns and making "a police-style car stop" in cars equipped with lights and sirens. Other times, the gang gained entry into victims' homes by identifying themselves as police officers, then holding entire families hostage at gunpoint for days on end.
The victims were handcuffed, bound with duct tape and subjected to various means of torture during interrogations, including "simulated drowning through repeated submerging of victims' heads in water for extended periods of time," the court papers said.
One victim told investigators that during a 2005 abduction, two of the defendants "applied a pair of pliers to the victim's testicles and threatened to squeeze the pliers if the victim did not talk," the papers added.
Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson described the crime spree as "a dangerous dance of alleged criminals preying upon alleged criminals, who themselves profited from the desperation of drug abusers."
The defendants, all from the Dominican Republic, were ordered held without bail after pleading not guilty Tuesday in Brooklyn. If convicted, each faces a sentence of 40 years to life behind bars.
swif said
00:55 05/07 2008
Hmm
scuppo said
03:09 05/07 2008
criminals robbing criminals
STUWY77 said
08:39 05/07 2008
teed neva yet love see other teef wid long bag
Crazypickney said
12:43 05/07 2008
@ scuppo same sentiments
linko said
13:00 05/07 2008
lol
DJ O.P. said
11:32 05/08 2008
a dat mi did go fi seh too eno stuwwy,,,,theif neva love fi see theif wid long bag...
but fi tell u di truth..they could have just as well been real cops doing it. read up on a man named larry davis in NY in the 80's..
NEW YORK - A gang of police impersonators abducted and tortured cocaine traffickers, forcing them to hand over multimillion-dollar stashes by holding their families hostage or threatening to squeeze their testicles with pliers, authorities said Tuesday.
An indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn charged eight men with robbery conspiracy, drug dealing and an array of other crimes.
Since the spring of 2003, the gang injured about 100 people while committing 100 holdups targeting large-scale traffickers in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida, investigators said.
The take: $4 million in cash and more than 1,650 pounds of cocaine worth $20 million, which authorities say the men sold on the streets of New York. Sometimes abduction attempts led to shootouts between the robbery crew and associates of the drug dealers, authorities said.
The scheme "was breathtaking in the scope of its crimes and in the danger it posed to our communities," said U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell.
Authorities seized several kilograms of cocaine, more than 20 handguns, handcuffs, police scanners and vehicles equipped with lights and sirens.
The men, court papers said, "were particularly sophisticated in their tactics," often conducting surveillance on the drug dealers for weeks before arming themselves with handguns and making "a police-style car stop" in cars equipped with lights and sirens. Other times, the gang gained entry into victims' homes by identifying themselves as police officers, then holding entire families hostage at gunpoint for days on end.
The victims were handcuffed, bound with duct tape and subjected to various means of torture during interrogations, including "simulated drowning through repeated submerging of victims' heads in water for extended periods of time," the court papers said.
One victim told investigators that during a 2005 abduction, two of the defendants "applied a pair of pliers to the victim's testicles and threatened to squeeze the pliers if the victim did not talk," the papers added.
Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson described the crime spree as "a dangerous dance of alleged criminals preying upon alleged criminals, who themselves profited from the desperation of drug abusers."
The defendants, all from the Dominican Republic, were ordered held without bail after pleading not guilty Tuesday in Brooklyn. If convicted, each faces a sentence of 40 years to life behind bars.