PHILADELPHIA— A former cop plead guilty to being involved in a scheme to extort drugs and money from drug dealers and drug buyers while on duty as a police officer, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Christopher Saravello, 37, plead guilty Friday. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion and five counts of Hobbs Act extortion, officials said.
Between November 2011 and June 2012, while employed as a Philadelphia Police Officer assigned to the 6th District, officials said Saravello conspired with others to rob drug dealers and drug buyers of cash and Oxycontin and other controlled substances.
Saravello’s co-conspirators would alert him to a drug transaction.
Saravello would then interrupt the planned drug transaction, identifying himself as a law enforcement officer by approaching the transaction in a marked police vehicle, wearing a police uniform, displaying an official badge and identification, or verbally identifying himself as a police officer, officials said.
Saravello seized the money or narcotics brought to the transaction by the buyer or seller victim and shared the seized proceeds with his co-conspirators.
In doing so, Saravello used his position as a police officer to extort drugs and money from others. The scheme resulted in the illegal taking of more than $9,800 in drug money and quantities of Oxycontin and other narcotics.
U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo Robreno scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 2.
Saravello, who is out on bail, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department
According to the Philadelphia Daily News, Saravello resigned from the force in 2012, when the department discovered he had an addiction to prescription drugs and suspended him with the intent to dismiss.
In court last week, the Daily News reported that Saravello said he hasn’t had a job since he quit the force. He said he received court-ordered treatment for his narcotics addiction from Dec. 5, 2014, to Jan. 8 and that he currently attends recovery meetings every day for two hours as a condition of his bail.
The Daily News also reported that Saravello thanked the judge for granting him $50,000 signature bail in January. He said it allowed him to participate in rehabilitation programs which have given him “the foundation” for the rest of his life, according to the Daily News.