Minneapolis Police officer Michael Roberts pleaded not guilty today to federal corruption charges.
Roberts’ attorney, F. Clayton Tyler, said Roberts never sought out the informant who allegedly gave Roberts $200 for information from the city’s and state’s computer systems. And he never asked for money, Clayton said.
Clayton called it "a typical case of entrapment."
Roberts' next appearance in federal court is Aug. 8 and his trial has been tentatively been set for Nov. 3.
Roberts, 57, a 29-year veteran of the department, was relieved of duty in April after the allegations came to light. On Monday, the grand jury indicted Roberts on two counts of depriving the citizens of Minnesota of his honest services and one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer.
According to the indictment:
On Aug. 9, 2007, Roberts met with a person, T.T., whom he understood was involved in criminal activity. During that meeting, Roberts put through an inquiry to the National Crime Information Center and obtained nonpublic information from the State Driver Vehicle System regarding a Minnesota license plate number. Roberts gave that information to T.T. in exchange for $100.
The following day, T.T. asked for more information. Roberts said he couldn't provide it at that time because he did not have a squad car. But on Aug. 14, Roberts met with T.T. in Roberts' squad car. At the beginning of the meeting, T.T. told Roberts that he was a member of the Gangster Disciples street gang, and wanted information on someone who was allegedly providing information to police about T.T.'s drug dealing. Roberts accessed the Minneapolis Police Department's computer records system and provided information from the nonpublic portion of the system. Again, T.T. gave Roberts $100.
Shortly after taking the money, Roberts suspected that T.T. might be an informant, the indictment stated.
He filed a false police report, stating that when T.T. moved to shake Roberts' hand, he placed five $20 bills in the officer's hand. Roberts wrote that he later "property-inventoried" the money. But according to the indictment, the money was never put into inventory and Roberts instead "used it for his own private purposes."
Ron Edwards, a friend of Roberts and a member of the Police Community Relations Council, testified Monday before the grand jury that Roberts apparently then gave the money to him. Edwards said he accepted the money from Roberts without any reservations, considering it "a gift from a friend.'' Edwards said Roberts told him to use the money to buy a steak dinner for himself.
According to Edwards, Roberts explained he'd been given the money from an acquaintance in return for agreeing to look up information from the Police Department's computer system. That acquaintance, who reportedly told Roberts he needed the information because he'd supposedly been the victim of a crime, turned out to be the FBI's informant and a former cocaine dealer.
"I knew he [Roberts] had gotten the money from the informant,'' Edwards said.
Nothing in the indictment, however, says anything about T.T. asking for information on behalf of a crime victim.
Roberts is scheduled to appear in federal court at 11 a.m. today.
Dolan to comment today.
The Minneapolis Police Department declined to comment Monday because it hadn't seen a copy of the indictment, said spokesman Sgt. Jesse Garcia. Chief Tim Dolan will speak to the media about the indictment today, he said.
Roberts was one of two longtime Minneapolis police officers placed on paid administrative leave by Dolan in April. The other officer was Lt. Lee Edwards, one of five black officers suing the department over allegations of racial discrimination.
Lee Edwards, a former head of the Minneapolis Police Department's homicide unit, commanded the department's Fourth Precinct, on the North Side, until Dolan removed him from that job last summer. His removal followed allegations that he drove a squad car after drinking and made inappropriate sexual comments in front of colleagues.
Sources said an ongoing federal investigation, which resulted in Monday's indictment, played a role in Dolan's decisions.
Lt. John Delmonico, president of the Minneapolis Police Officers Federation, said: "These are really serious criminal allegations. But, because it's a criminal case, the union's not involved until it's over. And until that time, I really can't comment."
If convicted, Roberts faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of deprivation of honest services and up to five years for unauthorized access of a private computer.
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