U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey (973-645-2888) - September 17, 2012
NEWARK, NJ—A police officer with the Paterson Police Department was charged today with allegedly conspiring to plant drugs on an individual and falsely arresting the individual, United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Mahmoud Rabboh, 43, of Passaic County, a police officer with the Paterson Police Department, was charged by federal criminal complaint with conspiracy to violate civil rights and with deprivation of civil rights under color of law. Mahmoud Rabboh appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Joseph A. Dickson in Newark federal court.
According to the criminal complaint:
On February 12, 2012, individuals identified as CC-1 and CC-3 planned with an individual who was a confidential source for the FBI (“the confidential source”) to plant drugs on another individual, identified as Victim 1, and to have Victim 1 falsely arrested. On Feb. 14-15, 2012, in meetings with the confidential source and with his co-conspirators, Rabboh agreed that the confidential source would plant drugs on Victim 1 and Rabboh would falsely arrest Victim 1.
On February 16, 2012, at approximately 12:30 a.m., after being advised by one of his co-conspirators that the confidential source had planted drugs on Victim 1, Mahmoud Rabboh, while in his police uniform and in a marked patrol car, stopped and searched Victim 1 and the confidential source, who were together at the time, in Paterson. Rabboh located the drugs on Victim 1 and falsely arrested Victim 1. He wrote a policereport that falsely described the event. The charge of conspiracy to violate civil rights carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of deprivation of rights under color of law carries a maximum potential penalty of one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge, Michael B. Ward, with the investigation leading to the arrests. He also thanked the Paterson Police Department for their cooperation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Llanes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark. The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. Defense counsel: Anthony Iacullo Esq., Nutley, N.J.
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