Palatine man cleared due to scandal sentenced for new drug crime
A Palatine man whose 2012 drug charges were dismissed in the wake of a Schaumburg police scandal was sentenced Monday to four years after pleading guilty to the manufacture and delivery of cocaine.
Efren Rosales, 21, received a boot camp recommendation, according to court records. Boot camp consists of physical labor, substance abuse treatment and education requirements. Rosales was also ordered to pay $2,819 in fines.
Members of the Northern Illinois State Police North Central Narcotics Task Force arrested Rosales in June for what prosecutors called "multiple narcotics-related offenses" that occurred between May 4 and June 12 of this year. They recovered more than 190 grams of cocaine from his home and a vehicle, prosecutors said, adding the street value of the drugs exceeded $14,000.
Rosales was among at least 19 defendants whose charges were dismissed by prosecutors in 2013 after then Schaumburg undercover officers Matthew Hudak, John Cichy and Terrance O'Brien were arrested in DuPage County on charges of criminal drug conspiracy, delivery of a controlled substance, theft and official misconduct.
All three men resigned the police force after their arrests. Hudak and O'Brien pleaded guilty to the charges last year and were sentenced to 26 and 24 years in prison respectively. Charges are pending against Cichy.