They were good cops, really, relatives say

Relatives packed the courtroom, a few in tears, as they gazed at three Philadelphia cops who sat solemn and silent, their heads hung low, in prison greens and handcuffs.

After Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski heard arguments on whether the officers should be released on bail, parents, siblings and in-laws said federal prosecutors were describing men they didn't know.

Officers Mark Williams and James Venziale, of the 39th District, 22nd Street and Hunting Park Avenue, and Robert Snyder, of the 25th District, Front and Westmoreland streets, face charges of stealing 300 grams of heroin, with a street value of more than $100,000, from a drug supplier.

Snyder's wife, Christal, allegedly aided in the scheme by passing messages between accused drug dealer Angel Ortiz and the officers. Christal Snyder's sister has children with Ortiz.

Ortiz allegedly gave Venziale, 31, and Williams, 26, about $6,000, and Ortiz gave Christal Snyder an unknown amount of cash. The officers and Christal Snyder expected to make more money when the heroin was sold, according to prosecutors.

Yesterday, a new twist in the case was revealed. The cops planned a second robbery before they were arrested, according to court documents filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

They allegedly were going to make a "fake vehicle stop" and take cash from a man they believed to be a Mafia member involved in illegal gambling, but who in fact was another undercover agent. They discussed providing a doctored property receipt to make it appear as if the money had been seized, the documents said.

Sitarski ordered that the three be released on bail, but they couldn't be freed immediately because Venziale and Snyder, 29, didn't have land lines necessary for electronic monitoring and Williams' parents needed documents to use their home as collateral.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathy Stark said she planned to appeal the decision, arguing that the three should remain jailed. U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III will hear the appeal on Monday.

"It's just hard to believe," Williams' soft-spoken father said in the hallway after he sat in court clutching the hand of his wife of 41 years, with a U.S. Marine baseball cap perched on his knee.

"He's never been a problem. His whole life as a boy, as a teenager, any time," he said. About 20 relatives came to support Williams, even his 80-year-old grandmother.

"It just doesn't sound like him. It's not his character," his mother said.

"It's all a lie," said Kathy Knowles, Snyder's mother-in-law. "He was a good cop. I don't know why [the Police Department] doesn't back him . . . All he ever wanted to do was be a friggin' cop."

All three officers have been fired.

Snyder and Venziale were childhood friends in Kensington, Knowles said.

Now, Christal Snyder, who is 2 1/2 months pregnant, is out on bail and home with her 7- and 11-year-old children, devastated, Knowles said.

"She's not good at all. She's up all night crying," she said.

Snyder's sister-in-law, Brittany Knowles, said he tried for three years to become a cop.

"He's a good guy, hardworking. He wanted to be a cop so bad," she said. "This doesn't make sense."