Philadelphia Police Inspector Indicted for Bribery and Extortion

PHILADELPHIA—Carlo Daniel Castro, an inspector with the Philadelphia Police Department, is named in an indictment, unsealed today, charging him in an extortion and bribery scheme, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge George C. Venizelos, and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey. Specifically, the indictment charges Castro with attempted interference with interstate commerce by extortion, attempted extortionate collection of credit, making a material false statement to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, honest services wire fraud, and using a facility in interstate commerce with the intent to promote an unlawful activity. Castro, who headed the police department’s traffic division, was arrested this morning.

According to the indictment, Castro invested $90,000 in a real estate opportunity. When the deal failed to materialize and Castro was unable to recoup the money from the business partner, he sought help from a witness cooperating with the FBI (the “CW”) in collecting the debt. Specifically, Castro instructed the CW to hire a “collector” to use threats of violence and violence to collect $150,000 from the debtor for a 10 percent collection fee. Castro specifically instructed the CW to deal directly with the collector as Castro’s representative, and not to disclose his position within the Philadelphia Police Department, telling the CW “I can’t get myself in trouble. I want to be police commissioner.” Castro ultimately accepted three payments totaling more than $21,000, all of which the CW represented was money “collected” from the former business partner by way of threatening violence or actually using violence. In a later meeting with FBI agents, Castro made several material false statements concerning his efforts to collect the debt.

“Police officers committing crimes have a corrosive impact on our system of justice,” said Memeger. “Along with our law enforcement partners—in this case, the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Deaprtment—we will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute police corruption.”

“Law enforcement officers in the United States swear an oath to uphold and enforce the law and protect the public that they serve,” said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge George C. Venizelos. “When an officer violates that oath, and is alleged to have broken the law for his or her own personal benefit, it hurts all of the honest and hard-working officers who struggle every day in service to our communities.”

The indictment further alleges that, as part of a bribery scheme, Castro accepted a free 42-inch LCD television from the CW, and, in return, conducted a check of a license plate in law enforcement databases for the CW. The CW told Castro that he needed the information on the license plate because he was trying to locate someone who owed him money. Castro later provided the name and home address of the person associated with the license plate to the CW.

INFORMATION REGARDING THE DEFENDANT
NAME: Carlo Daniel Castro
ADDRESS: Philadelphia, PA
AGE OR YEAR OF BIRTH: 47

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 80 years’ imprisonment, a $2 million fine, three years of supervised release, and a $800 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Leo R. Tsao.

An indictment or information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.