NEW YORK — Police and FBI agents have arrested four men charged with impersonating law enforcement officers while robbing those suspected of trafficking in narcotics and untaxed cigarettes.
Marco Perez, 45, Said Rivera, 31, Dinos Psirros, 39, and Morelos Disla, 34, were arraigned in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday. They now face a maximum of sentence of life in prison, if convicted.
“As alleged, these defendants brought violence and fear into their victims’ homes by masquerading as armed law enforcement agents and then robbing the victims,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.
“Not only did they steal from the targets of their crimes, they also dishonored the fine men and women who risk their lives every day by enforcing the law and protecting the public.”
The four men allegedly committed the robberies between November 2011 and September 2012.
In one incident, on Nov. 15, 2011, three of the men allegedly stole about $200,000 from a suspected untaxed cigarette trafficker, according to the FBI. In another, all four of them allegedly conspired to steal some $1,000 from a suspected narcotics trafficker — all while posing as law enforcement officers.
It wasn’t immediately clear what law enforcement agency the men allegedly claimed to represent during these crimes.
