Gregory A. White, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio;
C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Michael McGrath, Chief of the Cleveland Division of Police, today announced that Zvonko Sarlog, a sworn police officer who formerly served in the Second District of the Cleveland Division of Police, pled guilty to counts 1 and 36 of the superceding indictment in Case No. 1:07CR434.
Sarlog pled guilty to count 1 of the indictment charging him with conspiring to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and to count 36 which charged him with money laundering in connection with the drug distribution. Sarlog, age 37, resided in Cleveland, Ohio.
The plea occurred before United States District Court Judge David D. Dowd in Akron, Ohio. Judge Dowd set sentencing for February 27, 2008. At the time of sentencing, counts 2 through 35 of the superceding indictment and the indictment in Case No. 1:07CR435, which charged a violation of the Hobbs Acts, will be dismissed. Sarlog is facing a mandatory minimum ten years in jail and five years supervised release in addition to a $250,000 fine.
Mr. White said, “This case demonstrates excellent cooperation between federal and state authorities and is a combination of two of the Department of Justice’s highest priorities, public corruption and narcotics.”
“Corruption is the top criminal priority of the FBI. The guilty pleas in this matter reflect the strength of our investigative efforts and the FBI’s partnership with the Cleveland Division of Police against corruption,” said C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Division.
Michael McGrath, Chief of the Cleveland Division of Police, said, “There is no room in our organization for those who would bring dishonor to our profession. The criminal enterprise of which Sarlog was a major player actively supplied large quantities of narcotics to our area directly affecting and endangering the very officers with whom he was sworn to serve and the community that he vowed to protect. Every law enforcement agency is judged first and foremost by its integrity, and I vow that this sort of activity will not be tolerated in the Cleveland Division of Police.”
The other six defendants in the original indictment who were charged in addition to Sarlog have already pled guilty to the conspiracy charge contained in the original indictment. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert J. Patton and Bernard A. Smith following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with excellent cooperation from the Cleveland Division of Police.
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