"Rape Cop" Michael Pena's Not The Only Former NYPD Officer Headed To Prison
Categories: Bad Cops
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Unlike Pena, Tavarez, 33, didn't violently sexually assault a defenseless school teacher. But he was a member of a "robbery crew" responsible for ripping off drug traffickers to the tune of $1 million and 250 kilos of cocaine.
Tavarez pleaded guilty to robbery conspiracy, cocaine and heroin trafficking conspiracy, and firearm charges in April. Today he learned his fate: 25 years in federal prison.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Tavarez's crew was behind at least 100 robberies since 2001. During the robberies, thugs posed as cops and staged fake arrests of suspected traffickers. Following the faux-arrests, the thieves would steal the traffickers' goodies -- in many case, cocaine and heroin.
During the robberies, the thieves would restrain the "victims" with handcuffs and duct tape. In many cases, the robbers used handguns and assaulted the traffickers.
Tavarez participated in at least eight of the robberies while a member of the New York Police Department. In at least one instance, he accompanied members of his "crew" into a private residence while carrying a weapon to commit one of the robberies.
Unlike Pena, there's a light at the end of the tunnel for Tavarez -- but it's 25 years away. Pena, on the other hand, will be 103 years old before he even sees a parole board.
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