A former cop from Staten Island was indicted by a Queens grand jury for moonlighting in Maspeth and Astoria as a drug dealer’s security and cocaine delivery man, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Ishmael Bailey, 38, who resigned from the NYPD after he was busted in 2019, was arraigned Friday, Dec. 10, before Queens Supreme Court Justice Gary Miret on a 13-count indictment charging him with criminal sale of a controlled substance charges, official misconduct, bribe receiving and conspiracy charges.
As alleged in the charges, Bailey, on Aug, 27, 2019, met with an individual whom he believed was a drug dealer and was actually an undercover police officer. The pair discussed transporting drugs within Queens County and the defendant allegedly agreed to provide security as the cocaine was being transported from one point in Queens to another. For his services, Bailey allegedly agreed to a cash payment for each kilo of cocaine that was securely transported.
According to Katz, on Sept. 4, 2019, Bailey met with the same dealer in Astoria and allegedly held a duffle bag open as three packages were placed inside. One of the packages was a kilo of cocaine and the other two were fakes. Bailey was given $2,500 and transported the bag to a parking lot in College Point, where another individual, also an undercover police officer, accepted the bag.
According to the charges, on Sept. 12, 2019, Bailey played the role of security for cash when he met with the same undercover officer in Astoria. This time, Bailey was given $10,000 in cash to pick up two kilos of cocaine from a location in Maspeth. Bailey allegedly met with a second individual at the designated meeting spot and gave him the cash in exchange for two packages: one was a kilo of cocaine and the second package was a fake.
“This defendant, who took an oath to uphold the law, is alleged to have helped protect ‘drug dealers’ and to have personally transported cocaine from various locations in Queens in August and September 2019,” Katz said. “I would like to thank the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau for their hard work investigating this case.”
Justice Miret ordered Bailey to return to court on March 8. If convicted he faces up to 15 years in prison.
