Miami Cop Accused of Murder-for-Hire Plot, Working for Drug Traffickers, Released on $500,000 Bail

Miami-Dade internal affairs Detective Ralph
Mata, who has been accused in a federal complaint of arranging a
murder-for-hire and trafficking guns on behalf of a drug dealing
organization in New Jersey, was released on $500,000 bond today.

According to Reuters, he will have to wear a tracking bracelet.
A federal judge in Miami made the decision. Mata agreed to be
extradited to New Jersey, where the federal investigation took
place. The charges against Mata include conspiracy to distribute
cocaine and engaging in monetary transactions from specified
unlawful activity (the murder-for-hire plot).

The complaint against Mata did not identify the drug-dealing
group he is accused of having assisted, but the organization is
alleged to be trafficking narcotics from locations in Latin America
for distribution “in New Jersey and elsewhere.” CNN reported on
some of the details of the complaint against Mata,
including the murder-for-hire plot:

In one instance, the complaint alleges, Mata arranged
to pay two assassins to kill rival drug dealers.

The killers would pose as cops, pulling over their targets before
shooting them, according to the complaint.

“Ultimately, the (organization) decided not to move forward with
the murder plot, but Mata still received a payment for setting up
the meetings,” federal prosecutors said in a statement.

The complaint also alleges that Mata used his police badge to
purchase weapons for drug traffickers.

Mata, according to the complaint, then used contacts at the airport
to transport the weapons in his carry-on luggage on trips from
Miami to the Dominican Republic.

Mata worked at the Miami-Dade Police Department for 22 years,
including with the K-9 unit and an anti-gang task force. He spent
the last four years with internal affairs. If he’s found guilty of
the charges against him, he could face up to life in prison.