Chicago Police Sergeant Ray M. "Phat Phuck" Ramirez, 52, pleads guilty to misdemeanor attempted extortion - gets six months in prison

CHICAGO: A former Chicago police sergeant mired in personal debt pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count Thursday for attempting to extort a West Side liquor store employee by offering to look up police reports, license plates and other information in exchange for cash.

Ray M. Ramirez, 52, faces up to a year in prison when he is sentenced in March by U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman. He was originally charged in 2013 with three felony counts that carried up to 20 years behind bars.

According to the charges, the liquor store worker told agents that Ramirez, a longtime Monroe District patrol sergeant, would stop by the store daily and often took items including soda, chips, cigarettes and laundry detergent without paying. He also had borrowed money from store workers and not paid it back.

In May 2013, the store worker asked Ramirez to run a license plate check on the vehicle of someone who had been seen taking photos of the store and might be working for the local alderman, Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Church said. The request was actually a ruse concocted by the FBI.