Tonight, this policeman, 41 year old Corporal Francis Ogaldez has been charged with extortion. On Friday, police say that they caught Ogaldez in the act of "shaking down" a 50-year-old Ladyville resident.
The 50-year-old complainant, whose name has been withheld by police, had gotten into a fender bender three weeks earlier at Raul's Rose Garden. Not quite sure what to do, he went to Ogaldez for help. On Thursday, September 13, Ogaldez who is attached to the Ladyville Station, told the man that he could make the charge get dismissed when it went to court. But he would only do this for a fee: $400.
Ogaldez reportedly suggested that if he didn't pay by Friday September 14th, at 4:00 pm, the Ladyville man could face the prospect of an arrest. And so on Friday, Ogaldez is reported to have repeatedly called the Ladyville man to see if he had the money. Not knowing what to do, the man went to the legal aid office where he spoke with attorney Audrey Matura Shepherd.
Matura-Shepherd activated her police contacts, and by 6:00 pm the would-be victim contacted Ogaldez and told him to come and pick up the money at his home. What Ogaldez didn't know is that the four one hundred dollar bills had been marked. Ogaldez allegedly picked up the money at their home in Ladyville but while he did that, police were watching.
They report that as he got ready to leave in a Nissan pickup truck, they stopped and searched him. They found the marked bills inside. Police say that Ogaldez faces criminal and disciplinary charges.
For her part, Matura-Shepherd says that anyone with similar complaints can come to the legal aid office and she promises to assist.
