All language subtitles for FBI True Season - 5 episode 9

- He was the perfect image
of a police officer.

He was a member of
the special operations unit.

He looked good in uniform.

- This was gonna be his calling

for the rest of his life.

- And yet he had
this dark side.

He was a true criminal.

- Identity theft.

- Strippers, prostitution.

- There was drug activity
going on.

- He's capable of anything.

- You had these corrupt cops.

- This is the crossroads
of the case.

- The next step is we've
gotta take these guys down.

- They were wearing weapons.

That made them very dangerous.

- We had our SWAT team
all over the place.

It was definitely a level 10.

- He was a true criminal.

The badge was just
a means of getting there.

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- In the FBI, we make
a lot of headlines.

# #

Drug busts,

mob stings,

terrorist takedowns.

- Get down! Get down!

- We understand why people
want to tell stories about us.

- Mark it.

- Freeze!
- FBI.

- FBI!
- Action!

- But they don't know
the half of it.

What really goes down,

we save that for each other

when we're talking
agent-to-agent.

# #

This is "FBI True."

# #

- Hey.

- Kristy Kottis worked
with the FBI for 24 years.

Gangs, crimes against
children, drug trafficking--

nobody understands the perils
and pressures of Bureau life

better than Kristy Kottis.

- Kevin, how does the FBI
first learn about this case?

- It had to be, like,
the summer of 2003.

- Kevin Constantine
is third-generation

law enforcement.

He's worked organized crime,
civil rights,

and public corruption cases.

- There's a lead from another
office about an individual

that was arrested by the ATF
in Philadelphia,

and a career criminal.

So he was looking at
maybe 15 years.

We had information about
health care fraud,

identity theft,
and about public corruption.

And it intrigued me,
so I ended up going out

with a couple prosecutors
from Massachusetts.

We ended up talking to this guy
for probably like four hours.

The person
we were interviewing,

Troy, basically said
he had information

from this identity theft ring
that was being run in Boston.

- It was a sophisticated ring
run by three women.

- Michael Carazza's
skill with numbers

landed him his dream
job with the FBI.

In three decades,
he worked on numerous

financial crime
and corruption cases.

- They employed runners
throughout the city

to go to busy places,
grab purses,

bump wallets,

and get someone's
identity information.

And then they would go
to Home Depot,

apply for instant credit,
and buy gift cards

and sell them on the street.

- What was said specifically
that made you go,

wait a minute?

- He was selling
stolen gift cards

to a Boston police officer.

- Oh, wow.

- We didn't really know
who this guy was.

He just gave a name, Roberto.

- Right.

And at this point,
you're thinking,

we don't know if that
bad guy is just saying

he's a Boston police officer.

- For some reason, that lead,
it said--I don't know.

It was just my intuition that
this guy had good information.

- What did you do?
What was the plan?

- He had said that he had sold
stolen gift cards

to Roberto in the past,

so let's see if
he can do it again.

- Let's get case funds
approved,

go purchase the gift cards at
Home Depot, Lowe's, Best Buy,

give them to Troy, purport them
to be fraudulently obtained.

- We were now
the identity theft ring.

And then we kind of
had Troy get back

into a relationship
with this individual

that we really only knew
as Roberto.

We met with Troy.

We met him in a car.

We sent him on his way,
you know,

and Mike and I are
on surveillance.

We see Troy, you know,
get into a vehicle.

- He sold the gift cards.

He got the money.
- Right.

- But Troy's contact isn't
just buying contraband.

- All the sudden,
you're sitting there, and...

- Troy's contact is a steroid
seller and a steroid abuser.

- The agents now have
a recording

of Troy's contact admitting
to serious criminal acts.

But who is he?

- During that surveillance,
you know, we took the tag down.

We went to Frank's unit
to see who this guy was.

And then it turned out to be

a Boston police officer,
Roberto Pulido.

# #

- I remember
speaking to Kevin.

He says, you know,
I hate to say

that it is a Boston cop,

but it looks like
it is a Boston cop.

- Frank Mancini is a 30-year
veteran of the Boston Police,

where he rose
to head the department's

anticorruption division.

- So when you run
Pulido's name in the system,

what kind of information
are you getting back?

- He was an almost perfect
image of a police officer.

He was a member
of the SWAT team.

He was a member of
the special operations unit,

the motorcycle unit.

- Clean cut.
Looked good in uniform.

- He looked good in uniform.

He got along
with his supervisors.

- So I just want to clarify
at this point,

we've identified
that he's a buyer

of these stolen identity
gift cards.

You know he's been selling
illegal steroids.

Why didn't you just arrest him?

- Why didn't we just
arrest him then?

Well, in the first meeting,

Pulido seemed very willing
to participate

in an illegal activity.

- Are you thinking,
what--what else

could it possibly be doing?

- What else has he done?

- Then Troy, he started
mentioning that Pulido hosted

these after-hours parties
that were at a location

in Hyde Park, Massachusetts.

It was on top
of an autobody place.

Troy did tell us, you know,

that it's attended
by known criminals.

But we want to substantiate
that there was,

you know--we're not gonna
take Troy's word for it.

# #

There's a side door.

It's right on the train tracks
in Hyde Park.

- Mm-hmm.

- And right next to it
was a big parking lot,

so that's where we would sit.

So Frank and his team
and Mike and I,

we wired Troy up
on the parking lot.

We sent Troy up there
to one of these parties.

And then Troy would come out,
we would turn off

the recording device,
and he would

tell us what was going on.

Again, he would substantiate

there were criminals there
that he knew.

- Strippers.

- Strippers there,

and there was
drug activity going on.

- Pulido had
a person behind the bar

that ran illegal alcohol sales
and ran the drug sales.

He had a woman, Tatiana,

that was in charge
of the prostitutes.

I'll check her out tomorrow.

- We observed uniformed
police officers

from the Boston Police,
in marked vehicles,

actually walking in
to the front door

of this establishment.

So that was very,
very shocking.

They did not seem concerned
about being, uh, found out.

- And we're like, oh, shit.

- Right.

- What kind of things,
what other things did he do?

Well, we found out Pulido's
in partnership

in an auto repair facility,

where he decided he wanted
the whole facility.

So he had to figure out
a way to eliminate his partner.

- First of all,
he planted a gun

and heroin in this individual's
vehicle in the garage.

And then he had an associate
call 911 to report that,

hey, this person is in
this garage, in this vehicle,

and has a gun
and heroin in his vehicle.

- He might have said
he was waving the gun around.

- Waving the gun around.

- Two officers respond.

This individual gets arrested.

- During that same day,

Pulido instructed
an associate of his

to break into that
business partner's house.

- It was very alarming,
because if he did it

to his business partner,
he's capable of anything.

- There's evidence that
Pulido is a dirty cop,

and way out of control.

What agents want to know
now is,

why haven't those working
near him noticed?

- At one of these
after-hours parties,

Pulido introduces Troy
to Nelson Carrasquillo.

And he goes,
this is Nelson Carrasquillo.

He's a hustler just like me.

- Nelson Carrasquillo
joined the force

the same year Pulido did.

The pair transferred
into special ops

on the very same day.

So now it's not just one
crooked cop they suspect,

but two.

- We directed to approach
Pulido in terms of

opening up his own after-hours,

and whether or not
Pulido knew any other

police officers
that could be relied upon

to protect his enterprise.

And that's when Pulido brought
in Pizarro for the first time.

- And we found out
from another source

that Pizarro, before he became
a Boston police officer,

was involved with
a large drug organization.

- It appears
there are two officers

watching Pulido's back.

The FBI wants
to catch all three,

but prosecutors will need hard
evidence to put them away.

- So we're having
discussions about creating

an undercover scenario
that we could implement

in the case, whereby Pulido
would have to potentially

enlist Carrasquillo
and Pizarro to assist

in some type
of criminal activity.

We decided on what we
typically call a protection.

- We reach out to this
individual that eventually

became our main undercover,
Jack Garcia,

one of the best
the Bureau ever had.

- Absolutely.
He's a legend.

- He participated
in undercover operations

involving organized crime,
drugs, drug cartels.

And we got Gerry Bermudez,
an agent out of Miami.

- The undercover team
is in place,

but how are they
going to make contact

with Pulido without
raising his suspicions?

- We tasked Troy, our
cooperating witness, you know,

to see if Pulido would be
willing to meet with...

- Cousin would
like to meet you.

- His cousin.

- Troy told him that
a cousin of his,

Gerry, was in the business
and would like to meet Pulido.

- And?

- No hesitation.

He goes, of course.

He talked with Carrasquillo.

- He was directing
these guys that,

you gotta come meet these guys.

You need to come out
and meet them.

- So basically,
you guys are now

setting up a criminal
enterprise for Pulido to see.

- To meet and then
eventually work with.

- And they're all FBI agents.

- All FBI agents.

- The undercover agents may be

the best of the best,

but can they fool
three trained cops?

# #

- Pulido's willing to talk
about his criminal activity

with two people that he's never
met before in his entire life.

And so Jack, the pro,
turns to Pizarro,

who is not saying anything
but eating shrimp.

Turns to Pizarro and he says,
are you comfortable with that?

And Pizarro's on camera
deferring to, uh, Pulido.

- We had discussed
with Jack and Gerry

that Gerry would discuss
that they want

to start a new business
in Boston,

and it's a new market for them.

They would need
some protection.

- There were gonna be buyers
coming from Canada, bikers.

And then the drug cartels,
people from Miami, Florida,

were gonna be driving up
with the drugs.

There's going to be
a swap of drugs.

- Pulido's response?

- I'm in.

- Pulido recommended that
we could do it at his garage.

- So Gerry lets Pulido know
what's coming, how much.

And we go from there.

- The buy is in place.

The FBI now needs to create
an entire smuggling

operation from scratch.

- We're gonna make this
happen.

What are the next steps?

- The US attorney's office did
not want us to use fake drugs.

We had to get the cocaine,
40 kilos of real cocaine.

This is the ops plan.

- The FBI undercover
offers to Pulido,

hey, we're gonna bring a van up
from Miami with the drugs,

and we actually do drive
a van up from Miami.

- Yeah.

Another FBI
undercover employee

from Miami drive up the van.

Took two days
for him to drive up.

- And why did we have to bring
that particular van

up from Miami?

- We wanted it to be real.

- So it's a tricked-out van.

It's got, um, trap doors
and secret hiding places.

- Yes.
It was a legit, uh, hide van.

- Got it. Got it. OK.

So van comes up.

- This scenario was,

Pulido was gonna meet
at the New York border

with Pizarro and Carrasquillo

and escort the van to Boston.

That's how it was
supposed to work.

Let's get some FBI agents

that are undercover
employees that are,

quote unquote,
bikers from Canada...

- Mm-hmm.
- To purchase the drugs.

We relied on Jack and Gerry
to find the best of the best,

and we ended up getting two
FBI undercover employees

that you would never know
were FBI employees--

long hair,
all tatted-up sleeves.

- All right.

So the van is loaded.

- It's a good two-hour ride,
and Pulido, Carrasquillo,

and Pizarro, the idea
was that they're going

to escort the van all the way
to Pulido's garage.

Don't stop.

When he got to the Mass Pike,
Pulido, Carrasquillo,

and Pizarro, you know,
take turns being

in front and behind,
escorting it.

- They were wearing weapons.

They were armed for a reason.

When they were coming down
the Massachusetts highway,

if the truck was stopped
for whatever reason,

their job was
to protect the truck

from any Boston
police officers,

and that made them
very dangerous.

- It was a wild ride.

They get to the garage.

Pulido escorted the van
into his garage.

And at that same time,
Carrasquillo was out and about

doing surveillance,
talking to Pulido

in case he saw anything.

Pulido tells Carrasquillo

to go pick up
the Canadian bikers,

our buyers, the drug buyers,

to escort them to the garage

so they can do the swap.

Pulido never left the room.

He stayed there.

Then the bikers,
they get to the garage.

They do the exchange.

Pulido is still there
watching it.

They get the cocaine.

Pulido was amazed.

He was so impressed with,
like, the hide,

saying this is, like,
unbelievable.

- I believe the quote was,
"I love this shit."

- Pulido got paid $5,000,

because we had promised him
$500 a key of cocaine.

- A quarter up front,
75 down the road.

- Pulido and Pizarro
and Carrasquillo,

they agreed that they would
meet with our undercovers

in a couple weeks
for the final payment.

- OK.

- And to talk future business.

So the next step is
we gotta get organized,

and we gotta take
these guys down.

We gotta arrest them.

We always felt that it made
more sense to do it in Miami,

because we knew if Pulido

and Carrasquillo
and Pizarro flew,

they wouldn't have
their service weapons.

So there was an added safety.

- Gerry entered into
discussions with Pulido

about having Pulido travel
to meet for the additional

payment on the protection.

- Once they get paid, we're
gonna arrest them that day.

That was the scenario.

We had Pulido and Pizarro
get picked up

by an undercover limo driver.

# #

- So we had already
planned a suite

at the Biltmore Hotel
in Coral Gables

to do the final payment.

And we put both audio
and video on the room,

so we could actually see
the transaction

and what was gonna be
going on between Jack,

Gerry, and Pulido.

- And what was Pulido's
attitude now at this point?

Was he comfortable
in the suite?

- More than comfortable.

He comes walking into the room

in shorts and a tank top.

First thing he does is,
uh, hug Gerry and Jack

like they're best friends.

There was no hesitation
whatsoever.

- It's chilling.

- And what happens then?

- You had these three
corrupt cops

sitting in this
very luxurious place

where Al Capone used to live.

And they were there.

They were happy.

They were ready
to accept payment.

It was rather sickening.

What Gerry did in giving them
the final payoff,

uh, is forever ingrained
in my mind.

The final payment was made.

Gerry had individually wrapped
each of their payments

in a band.

He takes them out of a binder

and tosses them
to each of them.

He threw it at them.

It showed his disdain
for these individuals,

how they betrayed the badge.

They weren't real
Boston police officers.

They were criminals.

- The idea was
they're gonna meet

later on that night to, uh,
have a big party.

- And on video,
as they were leaving,

they again hugged goodbye,
and can't wait--

couldn't wait to meet
later on that night.

Pulido felt that this was his--

this was gonna be his calling
for the rest of his life.

- They get in the limo
and think that

they're heading to their hotel.

- That day,
we probably had a team

of 20 people in addition
to our SWAT team.

It was definitely a level 10.

- The limo driver,
also undercover FBI,

has his back to three
dangerous felons,

and both hands on the wheel.

- The three subjects
were driven

to the American Airlines
Center,

and our FBI Miami SWAT team

have been waiting for this
takedown to take place.

- But if the SWAT team
attempts a takedown now,

the limo driver could
become a hostage, or worse.

- Our limousine driver got
out of the limousine,

booked his way out of there,
locked the doors.

And our FBI Miami SWAT team
came from over the berm.

- The Miami SWAT team
affected the arrest safely.

Pulido, Pizarro,
and Carrasquillo were

handcuffed and on the ground.

- When I first arrived
on the scene,

I approached Pulido.

And I says,
do you know who I am?

He looked up at me and says,
yeah, I know who you are.

And I told him that
he was a disgrace to the badge.

- Yeah.
- And all he did in response

was put his head down

and didn't look up at me.

And then I immediately
contacted my boss

and told him that
the takedown was successful,

and then we processed them
at the FBI office.

- So he's under arrest.

He's in the FBI building.

You guys are getting ready
to go in for the first time.

What are your thoughts
at this point?

- For one of the first times
in an investigation when

confronting a subject,
I really didn't

care if we got a confession.

- Mm-hmm.

- Because our evidence
was overwhelming,

video, audio,
undercover agents.

He goes, before I say anything,
you gotta promise me

my family's gonna be safe.

I go, what do you mean?

He goes, I'm worried
that the cartel

is gonna come get them.

I go, no, everyone
you dealt with

was an undercover agent--
Gerry, all the truck drivers,

the bikers, Jack.

And it took three or four
times of telling him,

no, you don't understand.

Everyone you dealt with
the last seven months,

other than Troy,
was an undercover agent.

And he just kind of slumped
and then started to tell us,

admitting all he had done over
the course of three-plus years.

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- Not often do you get
a chance to work

a case so difficult against
three corrupt police officers.

- And they did
a tremendous disservice

to the hardworking men
and women in police work.

- I think that's about as
egregious of criminal behavior

as a police officer could do,
short of murder.

- My dad worked his way up
to become the head

of the New York State Police,

and then my brother became
a police officer.

I took pride
in coming from a family

of all law enforcement
officers,

and going after people
that really

should not be police officers.

- So at the end
of this investigation,

who is Pulido?

- He was a true criminal.

The badge was just a means
of getting there.

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