Opinion ID: 686771
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Ralph and Simon become informants

Text: 3 In May 1984, long before the facts giving rise to this case, Ralph was arrested for participating in an attempted sale of cocaine to an undercover officer from Group 86 of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (the Task Force). To obtain leniency, Ralph volunteered to cooperate with the Task Force and work as an informant. However, the Office of the New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor refused to consent to his release, preventing Ralph from commencing his cooperation. To expedite his son's release, Simon, Ralph's father, agreed to become an informant for Group 86. When Simon's cooperation began to produce results, Ralph was released on bail, and he, like his father, began to work as a Group 86 informant. 4 Ralph and Simon worked together on a number of cases for Group 86, which resulted in numerous arrests and significant seizures. Ralph was then permitted to plead guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to time served plus five years probation. A condition of Ralph's probation was that he continue to cooperate with the Task Force. Though Ralph and Simon continued to work as informants through 1990, the usefulness of the information abated after Ralph was sentenced. Their cooperation produced no further arrests or seizures. 5 The government introduced evidence at the trial that Ralph and Simon were terminated as informants on April 2, 1990.