Convicted former policeman Carlos L. Burgos was sentenced to serve 1 year in federal prison today, a decision Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV spent much time considering while weighing arguments from the prosecution and defense.

The 41-year-old former officer who patrolled the streets of Main South was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute marijuana by a federal court jury in January. The prosecution wanted Mr. Burgos to serve 5 years in prison.



Mr. Burgos, who served on the police department for 15 years and resigned after the conviction, will be placed on supervised release for three years following his release from prison, and must serve the first year under home confinement with an electronic monitoring bracelet.



He will be able to leave the home for various reasons, such as medical appointments and work, and will be allowed to attend events for his 5- and 12-year-old children as long as probation allows. A $2,000 fine was also ordered by the judge.



Judge Saylor believed Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd F. Braunstein's request for 5 years was too much, although the prosecutor's request was below the sentencing guidelines in the case.



Defense lawyer Edward P. Ryan Jr. wanted supervised release, but the judge felt neither request was apt.



“He swore to uphold the law, and he broke it,” Judge Saylor said of Mr. Burgos. “I am going to do what I think is right, what I hope is right.”



Mr. Burgos was arrested in May 2009 after he showed up for work.



The crux of the case was whether Mr. Burgos became a conspirator in a drug ring by telling a drug dealer that undercover officers were around a Gardner Street garage where the dealer worked. The drug dealer, Rolando Ramos, pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court and took the stand in the case.



During the investigation, authorities wiretapped phones used by Mr. Ramos, the target of a January 2009 to May 2009 drug investigation. A 54-second phone call involving Mr. Ramos and Mr. Burgos occurred Jan. 14, 2009.



Authorities said Mr. Burgos identified undercover officers' vehicles near the garage.



“Officer Carlos Burgos is no ordinary drug conspirator,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd F. Braunstein wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed in court recently. “As the trial in this case made clear, Burgos grossly abused his office by providing confidential law enforcement information to a drug dealer, with full knowledge of (or reckless indifference to) the risks to the integrity of an ongoing investigation, not to mention the physical safety of his colleagues.”



Defense lawyer Edward P. Ryan Jr. wrote in his memorandum that Mr. Burgos gave information to Mr. Ramos and it should have never been provided. He client did not jeopardize an ongoing investigation, he argued.



“There is no evidence that he was involved in any of the drug dealing activities of Ramos, nor is there any evidence that Burgos was involved in other ways,” Mr. Ryan wrote.



A stack of letters supporting Mr. Burgos was filed in court as well. Friends and family told the judge Mr. Burgos is a good man, caring father of five and should not go to prison.



“Carlos being incarcerated would truly be devastating to our children and our entire family,” his wife, Sandi L. Burgos, wrote. “The children need their father and I fear how this would affect them not only now but how it would affect their future.”



Mr. Burgos' wife wept when Judge Saylor said some prison time was warranted in the case. Mr. Ryan told a large group of supporters in the courtroom the 1-year sentence was a severe reduction from what prosecutors wanted.



Mr. Burgos was also allowed to self-report to prison. He must report in four weeks.



Judge Saylor made a request that Mr. Burgos serve his time in a prison close to Worcester.