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Cop Arrested In Plan to Sell Marijuana
Chicago Tribune | 12/10/2005

CHICAGO -- A Chicago police officer was arrested Friday on charges that he conspired to sell about 50 pounds of marijuana.

Joseph Pecora, 27, of Chicago obtained the marijuana--worth an estimated $150,000--in April from a supplier in Bolingbrook, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint filed Friday.

Unknown to Pecora, the Bolingbrook man obtained the marijuana from a higher-level supplier who later cooperated with law enforcement authorities, the complaint said.

The informant, who is not named in the complaint, later wore a wire and taped a series of meetings with Pecora, the complaint said.

Pecora, a Chicago police officer for 5 years, appeared Friday in court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Larry Beaumont asked that Pecora be held in custody pending a detention hearing, which Keys scheduled for Monday.

Pecora's attorney, Gerald Collins, declined to comment after the hearing.

In a statement, police Supt. Philip Cline said: "We are disappointed anytime any of our officers have participated in misconduct. We will continue to cooperate with federal authorities until the investigation is complete."

According to the complaint, Pecora fell behind in payments to his direct supplier, George J. Zito, 29, of Bolingbrook.

Zito also was charged Friday with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He could not be reached Friday for comment.

Pecora has been relieved of his police powers and is not being paid pending the outcome of the case, police officials said.

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TheNewGuy

Gee, it really sounds like they're throwing the book at this guy. I can't believe they won't pay the poor guy while they investigate him for the attempted sale of 50 pounds of marijuana.

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"Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." ~P.J. O'Rourke

psthbng

New Guy, I have to agree with you. A police offical thats under investigation and not getting paid? Strange!!

rick

It really burns me to read these stories.

I cant really blame the cop too much, though. With the wages the typical beat cop makes 50Lbs of grass probably seemed like a no brainer. Thats the problem with making something harmless so prohibited. Even the enforcers are tempted.

Who exactly is the victim in this crime?

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Buzzby

Society is the victim.

In first century Rome, the poet Juvenal wrote "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?", "Who will guard the guardians?" When those assigned to prevent crimes and to apprehend criminals become criminals themselves it undermines the public's confidence in their government and promotes cynicism about it.

Besides locking people up for victimless "crimes", The Drug War's greatest harm has been making a large segment of the population cynical about their government. The obvious lies about the nature of prohibited drugs leads people to think that their government lies to them about everything. Police officers corrupted by the huge profits to be made in the black market just add to the general lack of faith in those who should be exemplars of what is best in society.

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rick

I couldnt have said it better, Buzzby.
Thanks for the excellent insight.

killer12382

Don't you just hate it when a good cop crosses over to the dark side.

king cola

While hes bein investigated, they could atleast get him a ticket to Mexico until everything is over!

mbruffee

It interests me that no one in the governement sees a case like this and goes, "Wait a minute? Why does that happen?" They would be able to see that officers are tempted all the time to engage in black market deals because of the massive amounts of money they make. I can't believe that they can see these things without asking what is really going on here.