BOSTON -- A federal grand jury has indicted a

correctional officer in the Bristol County Sheriff's Office on charges that he

arranged to hire another individual to murder the mother of his son.

   

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Thomas M. Hodgson, Bristol

County Sheriff; and Kenneth W. Kaiser, special agent in charge of the Federal

Bureau of Investigation in New England, announced today that Robert A. Ramos,

44, of South Dartmouth, was named in a three-count

indictment charging him with traveling in interstate commerce and using and

causing the use of interstate commerce facilities with the intent of paying an

individual to commit murder.

   

According to the indictment and other documents previously filed with the

Court, in September of , Ramos, a correctional officer in the Bristol

County Sheriff's Office, contacted an individual to solicit his assistance in

murdering a woman, identified as "Female X".  Ramos had previously had an

intimate relationship with Female X and is the father of her 3-year-old

son. 

 

The individual, identified as a cooperating witness (CW), reported to

law enforcement authorities that Ramos had offered to pay the CW to murder

Female X.  The CW stated that Ramos told him he wanted to kill Female X so

that he would not have to continue making child support payments to her. It is

alleged that, Ramos had a subsequent telephone conversation with the CW in

which they discussed the murder for hire in further detail, including the

price and various scenarios by which the CW could murder Female X.  It is

alleged that Ramos agreed to pay the CW $5,000 to carry out the murder.

   

It is alleged that Ramos met with the CW in Rhode Island on Oct. 20,

.  During that meeting, Ramos gave the CW a detailed physical description

of Female X.  Ramos also drew a picture for the CW of the layout of Female X's

residence, identifying the location of Female X's bedroom and that of his son.

It is alleged that Ramos and the CW again discussed various scenarios by which

the CW could murder Female X, including, "mak[ing] it look like a robbery,"

and making it look like a drug overdose.  It is alleged that Ramos expressly

told the CW,  "I want her dead." It is alleged that Ramos told the CW that,

"it would have to look like it didn't come from me.  That's all I'm really

worried about."  It is also alleged that Ramos further told the CW that it was

all right to kill Female X while his three year old son was in the house.

Ramos stated that he picked his son up from Female X on Sundays and Tuesdays

at approximately 11:00 a.m.  Therefore, he wanted "it" to be done the day

before one of those visitation days, "just so the kid's not going to starve to

death."

   

It is alleged that after the meeting, the CW and Ramos had further

telephone conversations in November and December during which it was agreed

that Ramos would pay approximately $2,500 as a down payment before the murder

took place.  Ramos told the CW that he was in the process of taking out a bank

loan to finance the murder for hire and that he wanted Female X killed before

Christmas.  On Dec. 9, , Ramos again met the CW in Rhode Island.  At

that meeting Ramos gave the CW $2,000 as down payment for the murder of Female

X which he expected to be carried out within the next five days.

 

Ramos was arrested on Dec. 10, by law enforcement officials and

has been in federal custody since that time.  If convicted, Ramos faces a

maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, to be followed by 3 years of

supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

   

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the

Bristol County Sheriff's Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S.

Attorney Emily R. Schulman in Sullivan's Public Corruption and Special

Prosecutions Unit.

 

Source: U.S. Attorney