Neighbors Who See Stabbing Kick Ass
Top 5 Police Blunders Of The Week: Richard Anastasi Kidnapped, Tortured Man He Claims Stole His Identity
Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 9:00 am
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5. Ronald Haley
But before we get to an officer who ironically took the law into his own hands, let's first pay a visit to a man who simply ignored the law altogether.
Logic has it that most illegal immigrants do their best to avoid the cops, often failing to report violent crimes committed against them in fear of discovery and deportation.
Of course, this here list has little to do with logic. And so we bring you the story of Ronald Haley.
On Monday, Haley, a 41-year-old officer with the Bosque Farms Police Department in New Mexico, found himself behind bars in San Diego, California.
Just a few days earlier, Haley was re-entering the United States through the border at Tijuana with a Mexican national riding shotgun. After handing customs officials his own documents, he passed them a Mexican border crossing card supposedly belonging to his female passenger.
But when the border police ran the documents through their computers, they realized that the ID actually belonged to someone else -- the sister of Haley's girlfriend.
That's right -- an officer of the law -- the sworn enemy of illegals everywhere -- was caught trying to smuggle an illegal immigrant into the country. Which is actually kinda sweet if you think about it. Sorta like a cat befriending a mouse, or a Nazi hugging a Jew.
Unfortunately for Haley, border officials did not get all warm and fuzzy by his attempt to help a woman who would typically be caught in the crosshairs of American justice.
Haley was arrested and booked into the San Diego Metropolitan Corrections Center for his smuggling attempt. He is now awaiting federal charges.
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4. Ron Nelson
You'd think that 12 years in jail would have been enough to keep Ron Nelson on the straight and narrow. But, apparently, this former cop just won't get a clue.
In 1996, Nelson was working as a police officer in Livonia, Michigan when he was caught trying to rob a bank. Rather than surrender, Nelson led officers on a dramatic high speed chase that can be viewed here.
Of course, things didn't end well for Nelson. He was eventually sentenced to a dozen years in the slammer, from which he was paroled in 2008.
Just two years later, however, Nelson was up to his old tricks. Last Thursday, he was arrested in East Lansing for -- you guessed it -- attempting to rob a bank.
He is now in custody as officers are investigating to see if he might have been involved in other recent bank robberies in the area.
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3. Brookline Police Department
We really don't want to have to call out an entire police department for the antics of just four off-duty cops. But since the Brookline, Massachusetts Police Department insists on protecting the identities of its douchebag officers, we are left with no other option.
On Sunday night, at around 4 a.m., John Galland, the owner of Shamrock Entertainment, received a call requesting a dancer for a bachelor party. (Side note: a story that begins like this never ends well.)
But when the dancer showed up at the party with her chaperone, Bob Sonia, they were told that the bachelor had already left and that their services were no longer needed. Sonia informed the party goers that they were still obligated to cough up the $225 -- or at least hand over some gas money.
That's when the men introduced themselves as cops -- a status that, they felt, precluded them from payment.
Not wanting to tangle with a bunch of drunk power trippers, Sonia left. As he returned to his car, however, he noticed the men taking pictures of his license plate. In return for asking them what the &*$% they were doing, Sonia got the beating of his life.
He ended up in the hospital with a broken eye socket and nose as well as stitches just below his eyebrow.
The four off-duty cops ended up being suspended with pay while the police department claims it's investigating.
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2. Sean Hall
Sean Hall wasn't gonna let a bit of work stop him from partying it up on New Years Day. Nor was he going to let a previous civil suit stop him from attacking another female guard.
On January 1, Andrea Thompson, a guard at Rikers Island, was on mess hall duty while a group of officers, including Hall, were getting their drunk on in a nearby office.
That's when Hall approached Thompson, who is openly gay, and told her he was going to get her to wear "dresses, high heels, and let [her] hair down," according to the New York Daily News.
Hall then threw Thompson into a refrigerator and grabbed her crotch. After struggling with Hall, Thompson managed to escape his grasp. Not only did she file a complaint with the NYPD, but Thompson has also allowed her name to be released to the media in hopes that other victims will come forward.
After all, this isn't the first time that Hall has been accused of sexually attacking a female guard.
In 2006, Officer Danielle Simmonds filed a federal suit against Hall and the city of New York after Hall pinched her breasts, tore her shirt, and then grinded his body up against hers. When she resisted him, he told her that she "should be lucky that anyone wants to touch you anyway."
Simmonds received a $95,000 judgment against the city in that case. Hall was also ordered to pay up $50,000 for failing to respond to the suit. Still, Hall was kept on as a Rikers guard.
The city says Thompson's most recent allegations are under "active investigation."
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1. Richard Anastasi
A quick look at Anastasi's record while he was working as a detective with the Miami Beach Police Department reveals that he's just the sort of guy that would kidnap, torture, and threaten to kill someone who crossed his path.
In the eight years that Anastasi was working with the department, he was accused of harassing citizens, robbing suspects, battery, discourtesy, and mishandling his gun.
Three months after officially leaving the force, it appears that the 47-year-old former cop's love of violence has only gotten worse.
At around midnight on March 8, an unnamed Russian citizen was picking up a package at a set of Miami condos when he was jumped by Anastasi and his accomplice, Francisco Arias. The two men then took their hostage to an undisclosed location, where they tortured him for days. Aside from nearly ripping out the victim's teeth, the men also beat him unconscious twice, repeatedly tasered him, and threatened to cut off his testicles, as well as kill him and use him as fertilizer unless he paid them $100,000.
Anastasi finally let his victim go when he called his mother in Russia and she agreed to transfer $1,000 to her son's kidnappers.
But that wasn't the end of Anastasi's threats. He continued calling the man, demanding more money. Little did Anastasi realize, however, that his calls were being taped by the FBI.
On March 18, Anastasi was arrested and charged with conspiring to take a hostage for ransom. If convicted, Anastasi faces a maximum life sentence.
Shortly after being taken into custody, Anastasi filed his own complaint, claiming that -- get this -- he was the true victim. Apparently, Anastasi was simply trying to recoup money from the man he claims stole his identity and committed credit card fraud.
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