Tavarez, an eight-year veteran currently assigned to the NYPD's Housing Bureau Viper Unit in Queens, is accused of using his status as a police officer to obtain NYPD raid jackets and other NYPD paraphernalia and equipment for the crew so they could commit police impersonation robberies.
He also personally participated in robberies that netted thousands of dollars in cash and hundreds of kilograms of cocaine with a wholesale value estimated at more than $1 million, according to a criminal complaint.
Police say investigators recovered firearms, handcuffs, counterfeit law enforcement badges and Miranda warning cards, pepper spray, police-style radios, plastic tie-wrap handcuffs, gloves, duct tape and a wooden club during the investigation of the gang.
