This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Texas cop wanted cash to make a pot possession arrest go away, Hawaii cop had his own pot garden, Philly cop was peddling 'roids, and then there's the requisite prison guard. Let's get to it:

In San Antonio, Texas, a San Antonio police officer was arrested last Thursday for taking $500 from a man he arrested with marijuana to make the charges go away. Officer Curtis Lundy, 36, went down in a sting after the man he had arrested contacted the FBI. Under FBI supervision, the man then recorded cell phone calls with Lundy in which the pair made arrangements to meet for the payment, and when he arrived in his marked squad car, surveillance teams watched him collect an envelope containing the $500 from the man. He was charged with theft of honest services by wire fraud and if convicted, face faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. For now, Lundy is in on administrative leave with pay. He was released on a personal recognizance bond last Friday.

In Philadelphia, a former Philadelphia police officer was sentenced last Monday to four years in federal prison for running an illicit steroid and human growth hormone distribution ring. Keith Gidelson, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids after prosecutors charged he purchased monthly shipments from suppliers in Europe and China, which he would then repackage and sell in area fitness clubs and out of his home. Gidelson was taken into custody immediately to begin serving his sentence. Two other former Philly cops have also pleaded guilty in the case and await sentencing.

In Monterey, California, a former state prison guard was sentenced last Wednesday to six years in state prison for smuggling drugs and cell phones to inmates in return for cash. Former guard Jose Fuentes had worked at the Correctional Training Facility State Prison in Soledad, where the court found he had systematically smuggled the items into the prison over a two-year period. He was convicted of bribery.

In Honolulu, Hawaii, a former Honolulu police officer was sentenced last Thursday to eight months in jail for growing marijuana with his girlfriend. Michael Steven Chu has until February 13 to turn himself in. Chu had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to grow and possess marijuana after DEA agents arrested him last April and found two separate residential marijuana grows, as well as a pound of pot in his vehicle. The girlfriend gets sentenced next month.