By Barbara Boyer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
CAMDEN, N.J. — Two former Camden police officers arrested last year in a corruption scandal within the city’s elite crime-fighting unit were permitted to remain free on bail Thursday after the addition of more allegations that they falsified records and made illegal arrests.
Antonio Figueroa and Robert Bayard, who face federal conspiracy charges, were arraigned before U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler. Bail for the officers, scheduled for trial next month, was set at $100,000 each. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Figueroa and Bayard, who were members of the Special Operations Unit, allegedly stole drugs and cash from drug dealers, planted evidence, falsified police reports, and lied under oath.
They were charged in October with conspiracy and deprivation of rights for alleged activities from fall 2007 through October 2009. The charges added Thursday are similar to those in the original indictment but involve three additional victims identified only by initials.
In some cases, the original indictment alleged, the officers gave drugs to prostitutes in exchange for information related to alleged drug dealers. Other times, they added to the amount of illegal drugs found on those they arrested in order to enhance the charges, according to the indictment.
Five officers, including a supervisor, have been charged with conspiracy. Three of them - Kevin Parry, Jason Stetser, and their sergeant, Dan Morris - have pleaded guilty and are expected to testify against Figueroa and Bayard. Authorities said Thursday they expected the trial to last about four weeks.
If convicted, Figueroa and Bayard could face 10 years in prison. Parry - who was first to plead guilty, in March 2010 - and the others are likely to be given consideration for lighter sentences in exchange for their cooperation.
At the arraignment Thursday, authorities also discussed trial matters including jury selection, which typically is more complicated when a police officer is on trial.
As a result of the allegations against the five officers, prosecutors last year dismissed charges or erased the convictions of more than 200 people. In most cases, those arrested pleaded guilty to drug and related offenses. Hundreds of other cases were reviewed.
At the time, Camden County Prosecutor Warren Faulk said his office was obligated to drop the cases and release those convicted because of the real or perceived impropriety of the officers’ actions. Some of those arrested, he said, may have been guilty.
In at least one case, court documents allege, a Camden man was ordered to leave his home while officers searched it. He was later arrested on drug and gun charges and accused of fleeing police to elude arrest. The five officers participated in dozens of cases where evidence was manufactured or information falsified, according to the documents.
The additional incidents involving Bayard and Figueroa come in the investigation’s third year. Camden Police Chief Scott Thomson initiated the probe and called in federal authorities to examine allegations against the Special Operations Unit, which was established to patrol the city’s high-crime and drug-ridden neighborhoods.
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