A Surfside cop and his brother were hit with bribery charges Friday after police say they ran a scheme that gave drunk drivers a ride home -- for an inflated fee.
Officer Maximo Moreno, 25, and brother Allan Moreno, 31, were both charged with three counts of bribery, a second-degree felony, according to the State Attorney's Office.
The Morenos were busted after a five month investigation by the Surfside Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department's Public Corruption Investigations Bureau and the Public Corruption Unit of the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office.
According to officials, Maximo Moreno, a three and a half year veteran, would stop speeding vehicles, generally high end ones, during his patrols.
When the drivers were suspected of speeding or driving drunk, Moreno would give them two options, either go to jail and have your car impounded, or pay to have you and your car towed back to your home.
Maximo would then call brother Allan, who happened to drive a tow truck for Tremont Towing in Miami Beach. Allan Moreno would come to the scene and tow away the car and driver for between $180 and $300 dollars.
Officer Moreno didn't report any of the traffic stops and he and his brother used private cell phones to coordinate their scheme so that the calls wouldn't be traced.
Local
The brothers then split the profits from the overpriced tows.
"We all know that honesty and integrity are the central values of every effective police agency," said State Attorney Fernandez Rundle, in a statement. "When an officer uses his badge to intimidate the very citizens he is supposed to protect and serve, he damages the reputation of his department and every one of his fellow officers. In this case, he has also committed a crime. Now we all must work to undo the damage Mr. Moreno created."
