WGN News by Jeff Coen - June 30, 2009
CHICAGO, IL - Saying the case had helped erode the public's trust in law enforcement, a federal judge today sentenced a former Chicago police officer to almost 11 years in prison. Richard Doroniuk pleaded guilty and testified against his partner, Mahmoud Shamah. The 131-month sentence had been agreed on as part of his plea deal. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said the case is part of what appears to be an epidemic of police corruption cases. "In this city it seems to me we have just been bombarded by stories and cases and prosecutions of police misconduct," Gettleman said. The public wants to believe in the promise that the police are there to protect them, he said. "When that promise is broken, we're all in trouble," Gettleman told Doroniuk, who had apologized to the court. The public should want to call the police for help, the judge said, "not be worried that if they do come (they could) be robbed or abused or subjected to excessive force, or worse," Gettleman said. Doroniuk and Shamah were arrested in an FBI sting in which they removed thousands of dollars in cash from a storage locker after an informant told them the cash was drug proceeds. Doroniuk pleaded guilty to to racketeering and conspiracy charges. Shamah is to be sentenced Thursday and faces up to 30 years in prison.
CHICAGO, IL - Saying the case had helped erode the public's trust in law enforcement, a federal judge today sentenced a former Chicago police officer to almost 11 years in prison. Richard Doroniuk pleaded guilty and testified against his partner, Mahmoud Shamah. The 131-month sentence had been agreed on as part of his plea deal. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said the case is part of what appears to be an epidemic of police corruption cases. "In this city it seems to me we have just been bombarded by stories and cases and prosecutions of police misconduct," Gettleman said. The public wants to believe in the promise that the police are there to protect them, he said. "When that promise is broken, we're all in trouble," Gettleman told Doroniuk, who had apologized to the court. The public should want to call the police for help, the judge said, "not be worried that if they do come (they could) be robbed or abused or subjected to excessive force, or worse," Gettleman said. Doroniuk and Shamah were arrested in an FBI sting in which they removed thousands of dollars in cash from a storage locker after an informant told them the cash was drug proceeds. Doroniuk pleaded guilty to to racketeering and conspiracy charges. Shamah is to be sentenced Thursday and faces up to 30 years in prison.
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