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Cop Indicted for Aiding Marijuana Ring
A former Miami-Dade Police Narcotics detective has been indicted for allegedly helping a group of marijuana growers and taking bribes to keep quiet about their activities.
Roderick Silva, 45, of Miami, was charged with one count of aiding and abetting a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and one count of extortion.
According to the indictment, Silva provided confidential police information to the Santiesteban family and their associates, including when police were investigating them and when their marijuana grow houses might be searched. He also allegedly gave them advice on how to avoid police investigations and even provided them with information about other marijuana growers’ grow houses, so they could steal their plants.
The indictment alleges that Silva was paid $1,500 in cash on January 5, 2011, to keep quiet about the Santiestebans’ activities. The payment was made ‘under color of official right,’ a phrase that means Silva used his position as a police officer to extort money from the family.
The Santiesteban family and their associates were previously convicted in a federal prosecution in 2012 for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 1,000 marijuana plants. They pleaded guilty in 2013 and are serving long prison sentences.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer said that Silva’s actions ‘undermined the trust of this community’ and betrayed the trust of his fellow officers.
Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI said that Silva’s actions ‘undermined the public’s trust in law enforcement’ and that he must now face the consequences of his actions.
Director J.D. Patterson of the Miami-Dade Police Department said that the community’s trust is vital and that the police department is committed to seeking out and ridding itself of individuals who violate that trust.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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