Ex-Chicago cop admits taking part in robberies

[The Northerner]

A former Chicago police officer pleaded guilty today to federal felony charges stemming from one of the worst misconduct scandals in the department's history.

Keith Herrera, 33, admitted taking part in three robberies in which he and other officers with the Special Operations Section stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from suspected drug dealers and other citizens after making illegal searches of their homes or traffic stops.

He faces up to 13 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 14.

Herrera pleaded guilty to civil rights and tax-related charges and admitted he pocketed about $40,000 from the scheme in 2004 and 2005. He never reported the money as income on his federal tax returns.

Herrera later cooperated with investigators, secretly wearing a wire and recording then-Officer Jerome Finnigan, identified by authorities as the scheme's ringleader, allegedly plotting the murder of a Special Operations Section officer whom he suspected of cooperating with authorities.

Read more: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/news/local/chibrknews-exchicago-cop-admits-taking-part-in-robberies-20110419,0,2831149.story