BPD Detective Who Tipped Off Gang to FBI Probe Avoids Jail

BOSTON, MA — A Boston police detective from Norton avoided prison time after admitting he tipped off a street gang that was the target of an FBI investigation.

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Brian Smigielski, 43, was sentenced to one year of probation and a $5,000 fine in federal court in Boston. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy for helping the Roxbury-based Academy Homes Street Gang. He faced a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In 2009, Smigielski was the lead investigator as Boston police and the FBI opened a probe into the gang. Later that year, he was ordered to turn the investigation over to the FBI and other police units. He became upset and from 2010 to 2011, he and another Boston police officer assisted the gang by informing them of the FBI’s investigation and warning them that arrests were imminent.

In 2012, police arrested the gang’s 34-year-old leader and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on drug charges.

Photo: velkr0 via Flickr