Police Impostor Case Was Drug Deal Gone Bad

Two suspects who posed as police officers in a robbery last week weren't targeting random drivers -- they were helping themselves to a drug dealer's marijuana stash.

Those were the facts uncovered by detectives from the Rye Brook Police Department after a week-long investigation of the June 15 robbery.

Originally, police warned the public about a pair of men impersonating officers after Ralph Russo of Port Chester -- the "victim" in the initial incident -- flagged down a Rye Brook patrolman and said he'd been robbed of $50 after he'd been pulled over by the fake cops.

But police say Russo, 19, wasn't relieved of his cash. A cooperating witness told detectives that Russo had arranged to sell six ounces of marijuana worth $2,700 and the buyers decided to pose as officers and take the marijuana instead of paying for it.

Knowing he couldn't tell the real police officers that he'd just been robbed of drugs, Russo told them instead that the impostors stole $50. 

It was a lot to sort out, but now that police have the real details, they want the public to know there aren't fake officers riding around Rye Brook and pulling over random drivers. It was a botched drug deal, Chief Gregory Austin said, and the public shouldn't worry about running into the fake cops.

“It is important for the public to know that there are not two people masquerading as police officers in Rye Brook robbing innocent people,” Austin said.

Russo, of 24 Alto Ave. in Port Chester, was charged with a misdemeanor for making false statements to police. The two wannabe police officers are teenagers ages 17 and 18. Both were charged with second-degree criminal impersonation, a misdemeanor.

Police have withheld the names of the two teenage suspects because they may qualify for Youthful Offender status. In some cases, first-time offenders who qualify for Youthful Offender status can have crimes removed from their records at the discretion of a judge, usually in exchange for community service and terms agreed to in court.

Russo and the teenagers were arraigned in Rye town court; Russo posted $250 bail, while the younger suspects were released and scheduled to return to court later this month.

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