The Boston Shake Down

 Jose Tito Alvarez - AKA Jose Diaz, Joseph Diaz, Jose Pena, and Joseph Pena from Boston Massachusetts was arrested on March 6, 2008 for conspiring to violate another person's civil rights. The government alleges that 42 year old Alvarze conspired with a former Boston Police Officer Roberto Pulido in March and April of 2005, these two geniuses cooked up a plot to frame a former business associate of Pulido's. This master plan involved Pulido planting a gun and drugs in the man's car while Alvarez called the police to have the man arrested. Once the man was planted in jail, Alvarze would break into the man's apartment and steal a safe containing cash and jewelry.

 On March 29, 2005, according to their plan, Pulido planted the evidence under the driver's seat of the man's car. Alvarze then placed a series of staged calls to 911 saying that the man had threatened him with a gun and that, "I know he still has the gun and I don't know if he is going to come and shoot me. . . this guy is running around talking about he is gonna shoot me." Police went to the victim's workplace two times as a result of Alvarze's false complaints. On the second time, the police searched the victim's car finding the gun and dope that the former police officer Pulido planted. While the victim sat in a Boston jail, Pulido told Alvarez to break into the man's apartment and steal his safe. Alvarze made it look like a breaking and entering and stole a safe that had around $18,000 in cash and jewelry.

 If convicted, Alvarze faces a maximum penalty of 10 years incarceration a $250,000 fine and 3 years of supervised release. Alvarze was detained today and there is a bail hearing scheduled on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 2:30 pm in front of Judge Marianne B. Bowler.

 The case was investigated by the FBI and the Boston Police Department's Anti-Corruption Unit. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. McNeil in Sullivan's Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.

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