A former uniformed police officer with the City of Miami Police Department is charged with accepting bribes.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, and Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, City of Miami Police Department (MPD) made the announcement.

On September 21, 2015, Julio Ruiz made his initial appearance in federal court on a Criminal Information filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In that Information, Ruiz is charged with three counts of affecting commerce by extortion under color of official right, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a). Specifically, Ruiz is charged with accepting three bribe payments between April 26 and June 12, 2013, for a total sum of $1,800 cash and a cellular telephone. In exchange for the bribe payments, the Information alleges Ruiz misused his position as a police officer by providing access to, and information regarding, traffic accidents within the jurisdiction of the City of Miami police department.

Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a) carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. The case has been assigned to United States District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the City of Miami Police Department Internal Affairs Division. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Lacosta.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.