New York City Cops Accused of Robbery

Newsday reports:

Two New York City police officers were in a New Jersey jail yesterday, accused of trying to steal drugs and money from a suspected drug dealer.

Hector Alvarez and Miguel Castillo, both 28, were charged with attempted kidnaping, armed robbery, armed burglary and other offenses, according to the Bergen County prosecutor's office.


Authorities said that on Friday morning, a Rutherford resident saw the two off-duty officers fighting with his neighbor. When asked what they were doing, the officers said they were on "official business" and were conducting a terrorism investigation, the prosecutor's office said.

The Rutherford resident didn't believe the officers' story and asked Alvarez and Castillo to remain so the local police could confirm what they were doing.

Prosecutors say the officers fled in their vehicle, only to be stopped soon after by Rutherford police detectives.

According to prosecutors, Alvarez and Castillo both appeared nervous, had trouble identifying themselves as officers and provided different stories of what they were doing. Detectives noticed a crowbar, sledgehammer and bullet-resistant vest in the back of the officers' vehicle.

Rutherford police took Alvarez and Castillo in for questioning and eventually concluded that the men had conspired to burglarize the home of a suspected drug dealer and money launderer.

Alvarez is assigned to a Brooklyn precinct, while Castillo is assigned to the NYPD's central booking unit in Manhattan, according to the prosecutor's office.

No word yet from Mayor Bloomberg.Do you feel safer, in NYC, knowing these kind of cops have a monopoly on gun ownership?