Watch CBS News

Former Cop Gets Up To 14 1/2 Years For Using Barbershops For Illegal Activities

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A disgraced former NYPD officer has been sentenced to as many as 14 1/2 years in prison, after being convicted of turning his two Bronx barbershops into a front for drug dealing, robbery and stolen goods.

Jose Ramos was sentenced to 12 1/2 to 14 1/2 years behind bars on Wednesday, along with five years' post-release supervision, according to the Bronx District Attorney's office. He was sentenced after a jury convicted him on Oct. 27 or attempted grand larceny, attempted robbery, and attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Ramos still faces trial on five other separate indictments, for crimes ranging from conspiracy to commit murder to official misconduct for the actual alleged ticket fixing.

Police began investigating Ramos in December 2008, after an anonymous tip to the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau that an officer assigned to the 40th Precinct was involved in illegal activities with a known drug dealer in Mott Haven. That officer turned out to be Ramos, who was allowing the alleged drug dealer to operate from his barbershops, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said at trial, it was proven that Ramos turned a blind eye to the dealing of marijuana, as well as counterfeit CDs and DVDs at the barbershops. He also allowed the drug dealer to drive his car and use his police-issued placard, prosecutors said.

NYPD integrity tests showed that Ramos involved himself in plots to steal drug dealers' money, and agreed to take $10,000 to drive a car full of what he thought was heroin from the Bronx to Brooklyn, prosecutors said. He was actually taking a hidden video recorder.

Ramos was also caught using a fake car stop to assist in stealing $30,000 from someone he thought had bought stolen electronics, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors also said Ramos, along with his wife, Wanda Abreu, tried to arrange a contract killing from behind bars where he was awaiting trial on drug-running charges. Both were awaiting trial on those charges as of Wednesday.

It was while investigators were looking into Ramos in 2009 that they heard calls from people seeing if he could fix tickets for them, they said. That led to more wiretaps that produced evidence of additional officers having similar conversations.

In October, another defendant, NYPD Lt. Jennara Cobb, was convicted in the ticket-fixing scandal. She will be sentenced on Dec. 18, prosecutors said.

You Might Also Be Interested In:

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.