Prosecutors: Philadelphia officer says drug rip-off was not his first

One of the Philadelphia police officers arrested last week on charges of stealing heroin has admitted that the May 14 drug rip-off was not his first robbery, according to a motion filed Monday by federal prosecutors.

Officer Robert Snyder and alleged drug dealer Angel Ortiz admitted to federal investigators after their arrests last week that they took part in an earlier heist.

Snyder and Officers James Venziale and Mark Williams were charged with stealing heroin from Ortiz's supplier.

According to the motion, an undercover federal drug enforcement agent posing as a drug dealer and wearing a body wire recorded a conversation in which Ortiz told Williams, "That's the guy you met last time." Federal prosecutors say they believe Ortiz was referring to the earlier robbery.

The filing came as U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III heard arguments from prosecutors on Monday, appealing a judge's decision last week that the officers could be released on home confinement pending trial.

Court documents said the three officers admitted to the charges. They face additional charges that will soon be presented to a grand jury.

Attorneys for the officers have argued that the men would not flee because of strong ties to the area. All are married with children, and their families have offered their houses as collateral for bail.

Prosecutor Kathy Stark has countered that the three are about to be fired from the Police Department, face significant time behind bars, and might be tempted to run.

Bartle plans to make a ruling on Tuesday.

Snyder, 29, Venziale, 31, and Williams, 26, were charged last week with stealing heroin and plotting to profit by selling it. They planned to give the heroin to the undercover agent, who was posing as a drug trafficker who would sell the heroin.

Each faces at least five years in prison if convicted.

On Friday, the District Attorney's Office said it planned to dismiss any open criminal cases in which testimony from any of the three is crucial to moving the case forward.

The three are expected to be indicted in the planning of another robbery that was supposed to take place after the May heist. That plot involved seizing cash from a "mobster" who the officer believed was involved in illegal gambling. In fact, that man was also an undercover agent.

During a meeting on the plan, Williams said he "had got $10,000 off a dude before." He said he planned to give the supposed mobster a doctored property receipt from the Police Department as proof that the seizure was legitimate.

Last spring, as the officers, Ortiz, and others plotted the drug heist, federal investigators recorded on audio, video, and photos "virtually all of the meetings" between them, according to the motion. The officers met in drugstore parking lots and on North Philadelphia street corners, the motion alleges, and had frequent meetings with the undercover agent to discuss the details.

According to the court papers, the plan was set in motion by Ortiz, who has children with the sister of Snyder's wife, Christal Snyder, who was also charged last week, accused of passing information and messages between Ortiz and the officers. She was released on bail.

Ortiz told the undercover agent that he had a police connection who would help them steal 300 grams of heroin from Ortiz's supplier, an amount with a street value of about $100,000. In a recorded conversation between Ortiz and the agent, "Ortiz stated that one of the 'cops is my baby mom's brother,' " according to the motion.

The undercover agent asked Ortiz, "So who's going to actually do it, your brother-in-law?" Ortiz replied, "No. . . . He's trying to just get that Italian guy [Venziale]."

Venziale and Williams pretended to arrest Ortiz on the evening of May 14, after Ortiz got his heroin dropped off. They drove him away but soon let him go. The agent drove away with the drugs.

The undercover agent later paid Snyder $4,000 and Williams and Venziale $6,000. Williams, according to the motion, told Ortiz and the undercover agent, "You guys did a good job."