Police officer accused of corruption pleads not guilty

By James Walsh, Star Tribune

Last update: July 15, 2008 - 2:49 PM

Minneapolis Police officer Michael Roberts pleaded not guilty today to federal corruption charges.

Roberts’ attorney, F. Clayton Tyler, said Roberts never sought out the informant who allegedly gave Roberts $200 for information from the city’s and state’s computer systems. And he never asked for money, Clayton said.

Clayton called it "a typical case of entrapment."

Roberts' next appearance in federal court is Aug. 8 and his trial has been tentatively been set for Nov. 3.

Roberts, 57, a 29-year veteran of the department, was relieved of duty in April after the allegations came to light. On Monday, the grand jury indicted Roberts on two counts of depriving the citizens of Minnesota of his honest services and one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer.

According to the indictment:

On Aug. 9, 2007, Roberts met with a person, T.T., whom he understood was involved in criminal activity. During that meeting, Roberts put through an inquiry to the National Crime Information Center and obtained nonpublic information from the State Driver Vehicle System regarding a Minnesota license plate number. Roberts gave that information to T.T. in exchange for $100.

The following day, T.T. asked for more information. Roberts said he couldn't provide it at that time because he did not have a squad car. But on Aug. 14, Roberts met with T.T. in Roberts' squad car. At the beginning of the meeting, T.T. told Roberts that he was a member of the Gangster Disciples street gang, and wanted information on someone who was allegedly providing information to police about T.T.'s drug dealing. Roberts accessed the Minneapolis Police Department's computer records system and provided information from the nonpublic portion of the system. Again, T.T. gave Roberts $100.

Shortly after taking the money, Roberts suspected that T.T. might be an informant, the indictment stated.

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