A former city police officer was indicted on Monday for allegedly conducting unauthorized searches at Brooklyn Criminal Court to help out a crew of burglars.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez identified the defendants as Richard Arce, 54, of Yonkers, N.Y. and Raymond Ramos, 42, of the Bronx. Arce was arraigned on a 114-count indictment, which included charges of third-degree bribe receiving, fifth- and sixth-degree conspiracy, unauthorized use of a computer and official misconduct. He was arrested last week by U.S. Marshals in the Dominican Republic. Ramos was arraigned in January 2025 on third-degree bribery, second-degree rewarding official misconduct and fifth-degree conspiracy.
Arce was an New York City Police Department officer from 2008 until he retired in 2023. He served in the Transit Bureau in the Bronx, and in February 2022, he was assigned to the Brooklyn Criminal Court section at 120 Schermerhorn St. It is alleged that from approximately March 2021 through February 2023, Arce ran unauthorized searches for proprietary law enforcement information at the request of Ramos in exchange for promises of typically $40 to $50 per search.
The investigation revealed over 70 unauthorized searches for individuals including Ramos, Alexander Torres and Jesus Cedeno – who are defendants in an ATM burglary ring case, as well as other associates of Ramos. The searches were for arrest warrants, police reports and for license plates associated with vehicles owned or operated by Ramos.
He allegedly ran these searches despite directives from the NYPD Patrol Guide, which requires NYPD officers to make inquiries which relate to official business only, and to only divulge information obtained from the system for valid law enforcement purposes. Arce allegedly used his NYPD issued cell phone to transmit the information via text messages.
For instance, the evidence shows that on October 23, 2022, Arce, while assigned to Criminal Court, texted Ramos two screenshots, one showing that Ramos had an active bench warrant from the Bronx. The next day, Arce texted, “Don’t forget the $25 cuz.” On November 11, 2022, Arce provided Ramos information indicating that he is a suspect in a commercial burglary in Manhattan, which included the name and contact information of the complainant.
The evidence further shows that, on November 1, 2022, Arce sent screenshots pertaining to Alexander Torres, which indicated he had two suspect warrants. The next day, Ramos asked for information about Jesus Cedeno, to which Arce replied, “Nope. No $. No Honey.” Torres and Cedeno were later indicted for participating in numerous burglaries of ATM machines. They have since pleaded guilty.
“This defendant allegedly betrayed his badge when he provided confidential information to people accused of crimes," Gonzalez said. "This was a shocking abuse of the trust he was granted and an example of corruption that could have led to serious public safety consequences.”
Arce was released without bail and both defendants were ordered to return to court on May 7, 2025.
