Fifteen grand in seized drug cash vanished — and former Fairview Township cop Tyson Baker, 43, of Etters, Pennsylvania, helped himself to $5,000 of it. Today, he’s paying the price: 42 months behind bars and two years of supervised release after being convicted of ripping off evidence in two separate narcotics cases.
Baker, a 17-year veteran of the Fairview force, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sylvia H. Rambo, who also ordered $1,330 in restitution — $1,000 to his former department and $330 to the FBI. He must report to the Bureau of Prisons on April 2, 2018. His fall from badge to cell came after a four-day trial in September 2017, where a jury found him guilty on five counts: two counts of theft of drug money, one count of falsifying records to obstruct a federal probe, one count of stealing federal property, and one count of filing a false police report to the FBI.
The thefts began on November 21, 2015, when Baker orchestrated the grab of $2,000 from a seized stash that included several pounds of marijuana and $15,000 in cash. Then, on December 16, 2015, the FBI set a trap: an undercover vehicle with $15,000 hidden in a gym bag. Baker pulled the car over, had it towed, and — despite explicit orders not to — searched it without a warrant. Hidden cameras caught him rifling through the back and pocketing $3,000.
Two days later, on December 18, 2015, the FBI arrested Baker. He didn’t fight it — he confessed to both thefts on the spot. The video didn’t lie. Neither did the money trail. His badge didn’t protect him. His oath meant nothing when cash was on the line.
“Because of his status as a law enforcement officer, Baker’s actions not only violated state and federal laws, but also had a direct negative impact on state and federal cases where he served as an investigator or witness,” said U.S. Attorney David J. Freed. “The excellent cooperative investigation followed by Judge Rambo’s sentence send a strong message that this type of conduct will be vigorously prosecuted and punished.”
“When an officer shrugs off his sworn oath, breaking the law to pad his paycheck, he betrays the people of his community – and all of us who wear a badge,” said FBI Philadelphia Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Harpster. The case was jointly investigated by the FBI Harrisburg Resident Office, Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, and even Baker’s own department — the Fairview Township Police Department. Prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys William A. Behe and Michael Consiglio, the case stands as a gut-check reminder: no badge is bulletproof.
Related Federal Cases
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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