Chicago Cops Accused Of Stealing Cash, Drugs, Sharing Proceeds With Informants
CHICAGO (CBS) –Two Chicago Police officers are facing federal charges, accused of stealing cash and drugs after executing search warrants.
In exchange for the information to gain the search warrants, the officers kicked back some of the stolen proceeds to their confidential informants, the indictment alleges.
Sgt. Xavier Elizondo and Officer David Salgado were assigned to a gang unit in the 10th District on the West Side. According to a federal indictment, they conspired to falsely obtain search warrants that allowed them to search properties and seize cash and drugs. They then falsified police reports to hide the thefts, the indictment alleges.
On Jan. 28, according to authorities, Elizondo and Salgado kept $4,200 in cash recovered during a search of a rental vehicle.
Elizondo, 45, and Salgado, 37, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit theft and one count of embezzlement. Salgado is also charged with one count of making a false statement to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson, while meeting with police recruits at the academy, called the charges "a disgrace" to the entire department.
According to the indictment, Elizondo and Salgado submitted the applications for search warrants by having their informants furnish false information to a judge.
After using the warrants to seize cash, drugs and cartons of cigarettes from Chicago properties, the officers allegedly gave a portion of those items to the informants.
The false statement charge accuses Salgado of lying to the FBI about his whereabouts during his police shift on the day after the theft from the rental car.
After Elizondo discovered that law enforcement was potentially investigating him and Salgado, Elizondo instructed Salgado to remove property from Salgado's home, the indictment states.
When interviewed by the FBI, Salgado falsely claimed that he did not remember whether he had returned home during his shift, according to the charges.
