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South Florida police officers seem to be increasingly finding themselves on the wrong side of the law.
Last week’s episode involving a Broward sheriff’s deputy charged with witness-tampering is the latest in a growing list of trans- gressions.
Alonzo “Zo” Costanzo, 42, was busted while allegedly trying to help out another officer who had gotten himself in trouble.
Fort Lauderdale detective Billy Koepke, described by authorities as Costanzo’s “buddy,” was snared in an ongoing FBI racketeering case.
Koepke, along with another Fort Lauderdale officer, Brian Dodge, are accused of shaking down pain clinic customers and stealing drugs and cash.
“We’re not the sleepy little South Florida anymore,” said retired North Miami Police Maj. Bob Lynch, who teaches at the police academy. “There are a lot more people, and if you look at police officers, there’s more opportunity for graft. Once you start compromising yourself, it’s hard to stop.”
Recent developments seem to bear that out. Over the past year, a Miami police officer was arrested for weaving in and out of traffic at 120 mph on Florida’s Turnpike in Broward; another Miami police officer pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars from colleagues; a Hollywood police officer was found guilty of falsifying a DUI-crash investigation; and a Miami Beach cop was arrested after, authorities said, he took a woman on a drunken ATV joyride.
Two Coral Springs officers are under investigation for allegedly trumping up criminal charges against a stranded motorist, two BSO deputies are under investigation for grand theft, two others were arrested in January for allegedly falsifying police reports and Opa-locka has the distinction of having the police officer with the worst Florida Department of Law Enforcement record in the state.
That officer, German Bosque, remains on the force despite being arrested three times and fired five times. He is on desk duty, pending yet another investigation into alleged misconduct.
Costanzo, who has appeared on the television show Cops, was among five Broward sheriff’s deputies who responded to a traffic stop in January. The couple in the vehicle was pulled over for making an improper turn. They turned out to be the same couple who had accused Costanzo’s “buddy” — Koepke — of misconduct. The female passenger, Bonita Liston, was arrested on the spot for having diet pills and other pills that later proved to be legally prescribed.
While at the Broward Sheriff’s Office substation, Liston mentioned that she was involved in a criminal case against the two Fort Lauderdale cops. Costanzo began recording the conversation with his cellphone, and later told a supervisor that he had sent the tape to Koepke, believing it would help him.
A warrant was issued for Costanzo’s cellphone, but the recording had been deleted.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/...finding.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy
Last week’s episode involving a Broward sheriff’s deputy charged with witness-tampering is the latest in a growing list of trans- gressions.
Alonzo “Zo” Costanzo, 42, was busted while allegedly trying to help out another officer who had gotten himself in trouble.
Fort Lauderdale detective Billy Koepke, described by authorities as Costanzo’s “buddy,” was snared in an ongoing FBI racketeering case.
Koepke, along with another Fort Lauderdale officer, Brian Dodge, are accused of shaking down pain clinic customers and stealing drugs and cash.
“We’re not the sleepy little South Florida anymore,” said retired North Miami Police Maj. Bob Lynch, who teaches at the police academy. “There are a lot more people, and if you look at police officers, there’s more opportunity for graft. Once you start compromising yourself, it’s hard to stop.”
Recent developments seem to bear that out. Over the past year, a Miami police officer was arrested for weaving in and out of traffic at 120 mph on Florida’s Turnpike in Broward; another Miami police officer pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars from colleagues; a Hollywood police officer was found guilty of falsifying a DUI-crash investigation; and a Miami Beach cop was arrested after, authorities said, he took a woman on a drunken ATV joyride.
Two Coral Springs officers are under investigation for allegedly trumping up criminal charges against a stranded motorist, two BSO deputies are under investigation for grand theft, two others were arrested in January for allegedly falsifying police reports and Opa-locka has the distinction of having the police officer with the worst Florida Department of Law Enforcement record in the state.
That officer, German Bosque, remains on the force despite being arrested three times and fired five times. He is on desk duty, pending yet another investigation into alleged misconduct.
Costanzo, who has appeared on the television show Cops, was among five Broward sheriff’s deputies who responded to a traffic stop in January. The couple in the vehicle was pulled over for making an improper turn. They turned out to be the same couple who had accused Costanzo’s “buddy” — Koepke — of misconduct. The female passenger, Bonita Liston, was arrested on the spot for having diet pills and other pills that later proved to be legally prescribed.
While at the Broward Sheriff’s Office substation, Liston mentioned that she was involved in a criminal case against the two Fort Lauderdale cops. Costanzo began recording the conversation with his cellphone, and later told a supervisor that he had sent the tape to Koepke, believing it would help him.
A warrant was issued for Costanzo’s cellphone, but the recording had been deleted.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/...finding.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy
Mind blown. Really.
