What to Know
- An NYPD police officer allegedly moonlighting as security and transporter for cocaine deals has been arrested, according to the Queens DA
- 12-year veteran Ishmael Bailey, of Staten Island, was charged with selling and possessing cocaine, receiving bribes and conspiracy
- The 12-year NYPD veteran is accused of twice meeting with people he believed to be drug dealers and transporting cocaine in parts of Queens
A New York City police officer who moonlighted as a bodyguard for the wife of convicted Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was arrested in a drug sting Wednesday after prosecutors say he transported cocaine for an undercover officer posing as a drug dealer.
Ishmael Bailey, of Staten Island, cried as he was arraigned arraigned Wednesday night on charges of selling and possessing cocaine, as well as receiving bribes, conspiracy and official misconduct. The 12-year NYPD veteran is accused of twice meeting with people he believed to be drug dealers — but were actually undercover officers — and transporting cocaine in different Queens neighborhoods.
Initially on August 27, Bailey met with the dealer to discuss his role in the drug scheme, according to the charges. He agreed to provide security for the deal in exchange for a cash payment per each kilo of cocaine that was secured.
The 36-year-old cop met with the same undercover officer again on September 4 in Astoria, where he brought a duffle bag that was filled with three packages — one was a kilogram of cocaine, the other two fakes, Queens DA John Ryan said. Bailey was paid $2500 and assisted in bringing the bag of narcotics to a parking lot in College Point, where another undercover officer under the guise of a dealer took the bag, the charges read.
The alleged dirty cop participated in another deal on Sept. 12. Bailey met the dealer in Astoria, and was given $10,000 in cash to pick up two kilos of cocaine from a location in Maspeth, according to the district attorney. He gave the money to an individual there in exchange for two packages — one was the kilo of cocaine, the other a fake.
NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said Bailey had “betrayed his sacred oath to the department” and praised the Internal Affairs Bureau officers who rooted him out.
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“IAB has again proved that there is no place for corruption within the NYPD,” O’Neill said. “When an individual officer intentionally tarnishes the shield worn proudly by thousands before him, he will be held to the highest account the law provides.”
The police department suspended the 12-year officer without pay. A judge ordered him jailed on $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond. Bailey faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Attorney information for Bailey was not immediately known.
