Former Philly Police Officer Found Guilty Of Bribing Detective In Stolen Car Scheme
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A former Philadelphia cop has been found guilty of bribing another city police detective to allegedly access a law enforcement database of stolen cars in exchange for corrupt monthly payments.
Authorities say retired Philadelphia Police Officer Victor Gates was found guilty Wednesday by a federal jury of honest services mail fraud conspiracy, honest services mail fraud and making false statements.
Gates owned a company called Auto Recovery Services LLC, and one of his clients was Avis.
Authorities say Gates bribed his friend Patrick Pelosi, a Philadelphia police detective, to remove certain stolen cars from the National Crime Information Center database so that Avis could rent them out to its customers.
"This was a long-running, corrupt money-making scheme that is all the more egregious because the defendant has a law enforcement background," said U.S. Attorney William McSwain. "I want to thank the jury for its swift condemnation of Gates' actions."
Authorities say between May 2008 and April 2013, Gates mailed a $300 check on a monthly basis to Pelosi's home. Those payments increased to $400 per month between May 2013 and October 2014.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Gates initially lied to police by denying that he made payments of any kind to Pelosi, although he later stated that he had made payments for "help" with the actual physical work of locating cars.
Pelosi previously pled guilty and resigned from the Philadelphia Police Department in January 2017.
Gates is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 16.
