We trust the police to protect and serve, but sometimes they lose track of what they're supposed to be doing. Power corrupts, and some officers get corrupted pretty hard. In this feature, we'll spotlight ten cops who went over to the other side and suffered very serious consequences.
Louis Eppolito
![Louis Eppolito]()
If you're going to cross over to the evil team, there's no bigger way to do it than to join the Mafia. Louis Eppolito was in the Family from the beginning - his father was Gambino thug Ralph Eppolito. When he applied for a job with the NYPD in 1969, Eppolito denied being related to any members of organized crime groups, making it painfully obvious what his intentions were. After being promoted to detective, he and partner Stephen Caracappa worked for the Lucchese family, passing on confidential information about their rivals and even executing Gambino captain Eddie Lino in 1990. After an FBI investigation, Eppolito was jailed for life plus 100 years. (Photo credit: Linda Rosier/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Manuel Pardo
![Manuel Pardo]()
Crooked cops aren't born; they're made. For Manuel Pardo, it took being dismissed from multiple police departments for him to evolve into his final evil form. Pardo started out by graduating at the top of his class at the Florida Highway Patrol Academy, but got fired early on the job for making up fake traffic tickets. Pardo migrated to the Sweetwater police department but also lost that job after flying to the Bahamas to give false testimony in a corruption case. After being stripped of his badge, Pardo went on an insane crime spree, killing nine people and stealing their possessions. During his last crime, he accidentally shot himself in the foot, which led to his capture, conviction and execution. (Photo credit: Florida Department of Corrections)
Louis Scarcella
![Louis Scarcella]()
Sometimes, corrupt cops use their powers to make themselves look better at their job than they actually are. Louis Scarcella was a Brooklyn homicide detective who racked up an incredible string of arrests in the '70s and '80s. He had a reputation for being able to make witnesses talk and turn up vital evidence. Unfortunately, after he retired Scarcella's stories began to unravel. Investigators discovered that many confessions Scarcella had taken had curiously similar language, and many of his successful closings came under suspicious circumstances. An investigation revealed dozens of cases in which Scarcella had bent the truth to get convictions, and many of his victims have sued New York City successfully for millions. (Photo credit: Enid Alvarez/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Nicholas McFadden
![Nicholas McFadden]()
One of the biggest temptations in a police officer's life is dealing with the mountains of ill-gotten gains they confiscate from crooks. It's all supposed to go into the evidence locker, but who would really notice if some of it didn't? British cop Nicholas McFadden, along with his brother Simon, funneled fantastic quantities of confiscated drugs back onto the streets of Yorkshire through their criminal contacts. The duo were responsible for the loss of over a million pounds worth of contraband, and when investigators raided Nicholas's house they found nearly £160,000 crammed into sacks lying around. (Photo credit: Department of Corrections)
Jonathan Garcia
![Jonathan Garcia]()
Many corrupt cops argue that to exist in the system, you need to be a little bent yourself. That was Philadelphia policeman Jonathan Garcia's excuse for why he started stealing heroin from drug dealers and re-selling it on the street, often in uniform. Along with partner Sydemy Joanis, Garcia started robbing dealers in 2009 and not reporting what they took as evidence. It began with just cash, but eventually the duo realized that they could profit even more by dealing drugs as well. Garcia got 17 years in the pokey for his extracurricular activities. (Photo credit: Philadelphia Department of Corrections)
Jon Burge
![Jon Burge]()
With recent news that Chicago police have been operating a secret detention facility, it's wise to go back in time a bit and show that it's nothing new for that famously corrupt department. Jon Burge was a U.S. Army veteran who joined the police department after tours in South Korea and Vietnam. Between 1972 and 1991, he used interrogation methods on suspects that were way outside the norm - shooting pets, handcuffing them to objects for days, and burning their bodies. By 1990, a massive investigation was in progress that revealed Burge and his department were culpable in torturing confessions out of dozens of suspects, and he was fired and jailed for obstruction of justice. (Photo credit: Gretchen Hasse/Youtube)
Ralph Mata
![Ralph Mata]()
Lieutenant Ralph Mata spent 22 years as a decorated member of the Miami-Dade Police Department, busting gangs and even working in Internal Affairs to take down crooked cops. That last part is ironic, because he was about as crooked as they come. Mata earned the nickname "Milk Man" from his efforts in helping drug cartels smuggle cash and guns through airports in Miami and New Jersey. Mata would ride along with the crooks and make sure they passed through security without being searched. He even allegedly helped organize a murder plot against rival gangs that saw the shooters wearing purloined law enforcement uniforms! (Photo credit: Shirley Henderson)
Mohammed Waseem Ahmed
![Mohammed Waseem Ahmed]()
Corrupt cops aren't just a U.S. thing. Let's head over to Pakistan to learn how a policeman made himself one of the top gang leaders in Karachi. Mohammed Waseem Ahmed was a cop who managed to gain control over dozens of illegal gambling dens. Ahmed started his career as a "beater" - a low-level policeman sent in to use force to extract bribes from criminals. He was so good at his job that he became incredibly powerful and well connected, and eventually became the lead police contact for all of the gambling operations in Karachi. When an investigation closed in on him in 2013, he fled to Dubai to avoid prosecution. (Photo credit: Vebidoo)
Charles Becker
![Charles Becker]()
The first American cop to get the death penalty for murder, Charles Becker was a legend in New York in the early part of the 20th century. His beat was the brothels and vice dens of Manhattan, and he took full advantage of their proprietors by hitting them up for what some say was over $100,000 in protection money. One gambling house owner named Herman Rosenthal wasn't into the racket, however, and he went to the press about it. Two days later, Rosenthal was murdered, and the crime was traced back to Becker. After three trials, he was convicted and put to death in 1915. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Joseph Miedzianowski
![Joseph Miedzianowski]()
When people consider you one of the most corrupt cops to ever live, you know you've got it made. Joseph Miedzianowski started his career as a beat cop with a powerful connection to the streets, able to cultivate informants and broker peace between warring parties. That skill then carried over into his second life. Starting in the late 1980s, Miedzianowski started ripping off drug gangs with other rogue cops, and eventually built himself a little cartel of his own. Over the next decade, the crooked cop built up a cocaine operation between Chicago and Miami with multiple street gangs. A FBI investigation put him in jail for life in 2001. (Photo credit: Chicago Tribune)
More corrupt cops: Good Cop, Bad Cop: An Oral History of 'The Shield'
Louis Eppolito
If you're going to cross over to the evil team, there's no bigger way to do it than to join the Mafia. Louis Eppolito was in the Family from the beginning - his father was Gambino thug Ralph Eppolito. When he applied for a job with the NYPD in 1969, Eppolito denied being related to any members of organized crime groups, making it painfully obvious what his intentions were. After being promoted to detective, he and partner Stephen Caracappa worked for the Lucchese family, passing on confidential information about their rivals and even executing Gambino captain Eddie Lino in 1990. After an FBI investigation, Eppolito was jailed for life plus 100 years. (Photo credit: Linda Rosier/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Manuel Pardo
Crooked cops aren't born; they're made. For Manuel Pardo, it took being dismissed from multiple police departments for him to evolve into his final evil form. Pardo started out by graduating at the top of his class at the Florida Highway Patrol Academy, but got fired early on the job for making up fake traffic tickets. Pardo migrated to the Sweetwater police department but also lost that job after flying to the Bahamas to give false testimony in a corruption case. After being stripped of his badge, Pardo went on an insane crime spree, killing nine people and stealing their possessions. During his last crime, he accidentally shot himself in the foot, which led to his capture, conviction and execution. (Photo credit: Florida Department of Corrections)
Louis Scarcella
Sometimes, corrupt cops use their powers to make themselves look better at their job than they actually are. Louis Scarcella was a Brooklyn homicide detective who racked up an incredible string of arrests in the '70s and '80s. He had a reputation for being able to make witnesses talk and turn up vital evidence. Unfortunately, after he retired Scarcella's stories began to unravel. Investigators discovered that many confessions Scarcella had taken had curiously similar language, and many of his successful closings came under suspicious circumstances. An investigation revealed dozens of cases in which Scarcella had bent the truth to get convictions, and many of his victims have sued New York City successfully for millions. (Photo credit: Enid Alvarez/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Nicholas McFadden
One of the biggest temptations in a police officer's life is dealing with the mountains of ill-gotten gains they confiscate from crooks. It's all supposed to go into the evidence locker, but who would really notice if some of it didn't? British cop Nicholas McFadden, along with his brother Simon, funneled fantastic quantities of confiscated drugs back onto the streets of Yorkshire through their criminal contacts. The duo were responsible for the loss of over a million pounds worth of contraband, and when investigators raided Nicholas's house they found nearly £160,000 crammed into sacks lying around. (Photo credit: Department of Corrections)
Jonathan Garcia
Many corrupt cops argue that to exist in the system, you need to be a little bent yourself. That was Philadelphia policeman Jonathan Garcia's excuse for why he started stealing heroin from drug dealers and re-selling it on the street, often in uniform. Along with partner Sydemy Joanis, Garcia started robbing dealers in 2009 and not reporting what they took as evidence. It began with just cash, but eventually the duo realized that they could profit even more by dealing drugs as well. Garcia got 17 years in the pokey for his extracurricular activities. (Photo credit: Philadelphia Department of Corrections)
Jon Burge
With recent news that Chicago police have been operating a secret detention facility, it's wise to go back in time a bit and show that it's nothing new for that famously corrupt department. Jon Burge was a U.S. Army veteran who joined the police department after tours in South Korea and Vietnam. Between 1972 and 1991, he used interrogation methods on suspects that were way outside the norm - shooting pets, handcuffing them to objects for days, and burning their bodies. By 1990, a massive investigation was in progress that revealed Burge and his department were culpable in torturing confessions out of dozens of suspects, and he was fired and jailed for obstruction of justice. (Photo credit: Gretchen Hasse/Youtube)
Ralph Mata
Lieutenant Ralph Mata spent 22 years as a decorated member of the Miami-Dade Police Department, busting gangs and even working in Internal Affairs to take down crooked cops. That last part is ironic, because he was about as crooked as they come. Mata earned the nickname "Milk Man" from his efforts in helping drug cartels smuggle cash and guns through airports in Miami and New Jersey. Mata would ride along with the crooks and make sure they passed through security without being searched. He even allegedly helped organize a murder plot against rival gangs that saw the shooters wearing purloined law enforcement uniforms! (Photo credit: Shirley Henderson)
Mohammed Waseem Ahmed
Corrupt cops aren't just a U.S. thing. Let's head over to Pakistan to learn how a policeman made himself one of the top gang leaders in Karachi. Mohammed Waseem Ahmed was a cop who managed to gain control over dozens of illegal gambling dens. Ahmed started his career as a "beater" - a low-level policeman sent in to use force to extract bribes from criminals. He was so good at his job that he became incredibly powerful and well connected, and eventually became the lead police contact for all of the gambling operations in Karachi. When an investigation closed in on him in 2013, he fled to Dubai to avoid prosecution. (Photo credit: Vebidoo)
Charles Becker
The first American cop to get the death penalty for murder, Charles Becker was a legend in New York in the early part of the 20th century. His beat was the brothels and vice dens of Manhattan, and he took full advantage of their proprietors by hitting them up for what some say was over $100,000 in protection money. One gambling house owner named Herman Rosenthal wasn't into the racket, however, and he went to the press about it. Two days later, Rosenthal was murdered, and the crime was traced back to Becker. After three trials, he was convicted and put to death in 1915. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Joseph Miedzianowski
When people consider you one of the most corrupt cops to ever live, you know you've got it made. Joseph Miedzianowski started his career as a beat cop with a powerful connection to the streets, able to cultivate informants and broker peace between warring parties. That skill then carried over into his second life. Starting in the late 1980s, Miedzianowski started ripping off drug gangs with other rogue cops, and eventually built himself a little cartel of his own. Over the next decade, the crooked cop built up a cocaine operation between Chicago and Miami with multiple street gangs. A FBI investigation put him in jail for life in 2001. (Photo credit: Chicago Tribune)
More corrupt cops: Good Cop, Bad Cop: An Oral History of 'The Shield'