BOSTON
A Boston police detective who was upset at the FBI and warned gang members about a federal probe plead guilty to obstruction of an investigation, officials said.
U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper set sentencing for Brian Smigielski, 43, for January, officials said. The Boston detective is facing up to five years in prison.
Smigielski admitted to conspiracy to obstruct a FBI investigation related to the Academy Homes Street Gang, a violent narcotics trafficking gang that operated out of the Academy Homes housing development in Roxbury, according to authorities.
Here are the facts and circumstances surrounding this case:
- From early 2009 to 2011, the FBI and Boston Police Department were conducting a joint investigation into Academy Homes Housing Gang,during the initial stages of which Smigielski was the lead investigator.
- In late 2009, Smigielski, became upset after being ordered to turn over the investigation to the FBI and other Boston police units.
- In 2010 and 2011, he conspired with a fellow Boston officer and gang members to impede the FBI in its investigation of Academy Homes Street Gang.
- Smigielski assisted gang members by, among other things, informing the gang members of the FBI’s pending investigation and warning them that their arrests were imminent.