October 2, 2006 -
PHILADELPHIA POLICE DISPATCHERS CHARGED WITH SELLING INFORMATION USED TO COMMIT ROBBERIES
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Pat Meehan announced today that as a result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division, Patricia Bradley and Tamara Mitchell, both Philadelphia police department civilian radio dispatchers, have been charged with extortion for selling information from the Police Department’s computer system. According to the four-count criminal Information,* they ran license tags and gave the names and addresses associated with those tags to a man who was using the information to commit crimes at those addresses.
The Philadelphia Police Department hires civilian dispatchers who are responsible for providing information and support to police officers via police radio. The dispatchers use a system of computer data bases to obtain current identifying information about persons and vehicles as that information is requested by police officers. The computer data bases are limited to law enforcement use. Bradley was employed as a dispatcher from March 2003 until February 2006, when her employment was terminated by the police department. Mitchell has been employed since 2001 until the present, and, upon the filing of charges, will be terminated from the police department.
According to the Information, in exchange for a share of the proceeds, Bradley and Mitchell sold information to someone who they believed was going to use that information to commit robberies.
“These defendants deliberately undermined the work of the very officers they were supposed to be supporting,” said Meehan.
If convicted Bradley faces a potential maximum sentence of 80 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, three years supervised release and a $400 special assessment. Mitchell faces a potential maximum sentence of 40 years imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, three years supervised release and a $200 special assessment.
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DEFENDANT |
ADDRESS |
AGE [Date of Birth] |
|
Patricia Bradley |
1300 Block of Lippincott St. Philadelphia, PA |
35 |
Tamara Mitchell |
600 Block of Chew St. Philadelphia, PA |
38 |
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department and has been assigned to Special Assistant United States Attorney Arlene Fisk.
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UNITED
STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT, PENNSYLVANIA Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 |
Contact: RICH MANIERI Media Contact 215.861.8525 |
*An Indictment or Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Benjamin Franklin Photo by B. Krist for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation