Fourth Hollywood cop sentenced to prison in FBI sting

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A fourth former Hollywood police officer was handed a stiff prison sentence after pleading guilty to a drug trafficking charge arising from an undercover FBI corruption investigation of the police department.

Former Sergeant Jeffry Courtney was sentenced yesterday to nine years in federal prison. Three other ex-officers charged in the case received sentences of between nine and 14 years behind bars.

Like the others, Courtney pleaded guilty earlier to a heroin trafficking conspiracy charge. Prosecutors said the corrupt police officers agreed with people they thought were New York-based mobsters -- in reality, undercover FBI agents -- to protect a purported heroin shipment as it moved by truck through South Florida.

A fifth ex-officer is scheduled to be sentenced in October for lying to the FBI.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)