Former Police Detective and FBI Task Force Officer Convicted of Bribery and Other Offenses
JUL 16, 2021 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: JUL 16, 2021
A federal jury convicted a veteran detective for the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Police Department, who was also a task force officer with the FBI and a member of the Cumberland County Drug Task Force, today of bribery, drug distribution and making false statements.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Christopher Collare, 53, of Blythewood, South Carolina, used his official position to obtain sex from two women in exchange for agreeing to take actions in prosecutions. Specifically, in 2015, Collare agreed to accept sex in exchange for not appearing at an evidentiary hearing so that a criminal charge would be dismissed. In 2018, Collare agreed to accept sexual favors in exchange for taking steps to help reduce a potential sentence. Collare distributed heroin in 2016. He also lied in November 2015 on a federal form he completed during the process of becoming an FBI task force officer, and he made multiple false statements in an interview with federal agents in May 2018.
Collare was convicted of federal program bribery, bribery by a federal official, distribution of heroin, and six counts of false statements. Collare was taken into custody following the verdict. His sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for federal program bribery, 15 years in prison for bribery by a federal official, 20 years in prison for distribution of heroin and five years in prison for false statements. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler for the Middle District of Pennsylvania; Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Driscoll of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Russell W. Cunningham of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.
Trial Attorney James I. Pearce of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlo D. Marchioli and Phillip J. Caraballo are prosecuting the case.
New post: The Jack Abramoff Scandal Series: United States v. Andrade https://t.co/aW0pushurj
— LawsInTexas (@lawsintexasusa) July 16, 2021
Former Police Detective and FBI Task Force Officer Indicted for Bribery and Other Offenses
JAN 23, 2020 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: JUL 16, 2021
A veteran detective for the Carlisle, Pennsylvania Police Department, who was also a task force officer with the FBI and a member of the Cumberland County Drug Task Force, was indicted by a federal grand jury for bribery, drug distribution, fraud and making false statements.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Special Agent in Charge Guido Modano of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s New York Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Michael Harpster of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office made the announcement.
The indictment alleges that Christopher Collare, 52, of Blythewood, South Carolina, used his official position to obtain sex from two women in exchange for agreeing to take actions in prosecutions. In 2015, Collare allegedly agreed to accept sex or money in exchange for not appearing at an evidentiary hearing so that a criminal charge would be dismissed. In 2018, Collare allegedly agreed to accept sexual favors in exchange for taking steps to help reduce a potential sentence.
The indictment also alleges that Collare distributed heroin in 2016. The indictment alleges that between 2011 and 2018 he defrauded the Borough of Carlisle and the Cumberland County Drug Task Force by providing confidential informants with drugs and allowing informants to retain drugs that they had obtained during controlled buys.
The indictment further alleges that Collare lied on a federal form he completed during the process of becoming an FBI task force officer and that he made multiple false statements in an interview with federal agents in May 2018.
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General investigated the case. Trial Attorney James I. Pearce of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlo D. Marchioli and Phillip J. Caraballo are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Nothin’ to do with this, huh? https://t.co/iBJ4ZC1lrv@uscourts @KPRC2 @Pontifex @thehill @politico @ACLU @washingtonpost @publicjustice @Telegraph @IrishTimes @guardian @ReutersLegal @reason @MotherJones @nytimes @WSJopinion @latimes #txlege #appellatetwitter #OperationWhiteout pic.twitter.com/HnWKmDL42p
— LawsInTexas (@lawsintexasusa) July 14, 2021