Crooked Chicago cop gets nearly 6 years in prison

Chicago Police Officer David Salgado said he was taught to follow orders, and he believed in the leadership of his supervisor, Sgt. Xavier “X” Elizondo.

Standing in a federal courtroom where he was about to learn his fate Wednesday, Salgado told a judge he always did what he was told, to the point that he’d be taunted by co-workers who called him “Little X.”

His attorney even said, “David was at the mercy of Xavier Elizondo.”

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly didn’t buy it. A jury last fall convicted the two officers of using bogus information to secure search warrants to steal cash and drugs. And Kennelly on Wednesday rejected the idea that Salgado was somehow an unwitting participant in the scheme, handing the veteran police officer a nearly six-year prison sentence.

“Mr. Salgado made choices,” Kennelly said. “ And now this is where he finds himself.”

Salgado’s 90-minute sentencing hearing brought to a close a prosecution that revolved around the use of anonymous “John Doe” informants by police and brought scrutiny to at least one Cook County judge. In the end, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Franzblau said the scheme involved the “duping” of judges, prosecutors and fellow officers.

Elizondo and Salgado remain on “no-pay status” with the Chicago Police Department, according to a spokeswoman.

Kennelly sentenced Elizondo, 48, last month to more than seven years in prison. Franzblau on Wednesday asked Kennelly to hand Salgado, 39, the same sentence, but Kennelly made note of one difference between the officers. The judge said Elizondo lied on the witness stand when the men went to trial last year.

The judge did take issue with the notion that Salgado was just following Elizondo’s orders but he also considered comments from Salgado’s wife and sister, who described him as a family man who always wanted to do the right thing. Salgado told the judge he began to drink heavily after his mother died in March 2017 and he lost his passion for the job.

Defense attorney Michael Petro told the judge that, “the job makes these officers sick.” He said most officers likely suffer from some level of post-traumatic stress disorder and he said, “there’s nowhere to go to get away from the job except to the local bar.”

The investigation into Elizondo and Salgado dates back to late 2017, court records show. Cook County Circuit Judge Mauricio Araujo found himself drawn into it because he signed a warrant for Salgado outside Smith & Wollensky in River North in December 2017. The FBI later questioned Araujo about his relationship with Salgado, the Chicago Sun-Times has reported.

Elizondo and Salgado used the warrant from Araujo to search what they believed to be a drug stash house on the West Side. The FBI had hidden $15,000 inside the house. It also planted surveillance cameras there. The officers found both and decided to inventory the money properly, according to federal prosecutors.

Still, Elizondo was caught on tape telling an informant working for the feds, “it would have been a good Christmas” if the cameras hadn’t been there.

Then, in January 2018, that same informant told Elizondo about cash and drugs inside a rental car parked at the Carlton Inn near Midway Airport. The tipster told Elizondo a key had been tucked inside the rear bumper of the car.

The FBI had hidden $18,200 in two Burger King bags in the car, according to court records.

After Elizondo and Salgado searched the car with other officers, they eventually took the car to the Homan Square police station, where Salgado reported $14,000 was found inside, records show.