This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Two of our four bad apples this week come from the Big Apple, one for planting drugs and one for transporting them. Of the other two, one picked the wrong friends and the other picked the wrong wife. Let's get to it:

In Annapolis, Maryland, an Anne Arundel County police officer was arrested last Thursday on allegations he notified the subjects of a narcotics search warrant that a raid was pending. Corporal Rick Alexander, 36, a 14-year-veteran of the department, was ratted out by some of the very people he tipped off, old friends of his who told searching police he had alerted them. Police found a small quantity of a controlled substance at the home. Based on interrogations at that location, police searched a second location and found 82 grams of marijuana that had been moved after the tip. Alexander is charged with obstruction and hindering a police officer, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, misconduct in office, and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was arraigned and released on his own recognizance.

In Woodward, Oklahoma, a former Woodward police detective was charged last Thursday with repeatedly stealing methamphetamine from the department evidence room to support his then-wife's drug habit. Former detective Michael Morton, 55, faces 13 drug-related felony counts for the thefts that took place between May 2009 and March 2010. The couple divorced in June 2010.  Morton took his then-wife along during several of the thefts and showed her the location of the drugs. The little racket imploded when Morton's spouse ripped some off on her own, kicking open the evidence room door, ripping open evidence envelopes, and stealing the speed inside. Morton faces up to life in prison because on some occasions he gave his then-wife drugs within a thousand feet of a school. 

In New York City, a retired NYPD officer was convicted last Friday of transporting 10 kilos of cocaine from Long Island to the Bronx in return for a $12,000 payment. Alfredo Rivera, 53, went down in a sting operation. He is guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possessing a weapon while possessing drugs. He is looking at 15 years to life in federal prison when he is sentenced in May.

In New York City, a former NYPD narcotics detective was sentenced last Thursday to five years probation and 300 hours of community service for planting drugs on a woman and her boyfriend. Jason Arbeeny, a 14-year-veteran of the force, had been found guilty of eight counts of falsifying records and official misconduct for planting drugs on suspects, a crime he said he committed to reach arrest quotas. The practice of planting drugs on people, known as "flaking," has so far cost the city $1.2 million in lawsuit settlements.