A former police chief is on the other side of justice after a sentencing hearing this week means he will spend three years behind bars.

According to WPXI, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore handed down the sentence against Raimundo Atesiano about two months after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

An internal investigation within the Biscayne Park Police Department in 2014 led to Atesiano’s resignation on suspicion of framing local African-Americans in unsolved crime cases as part of an effort to artificially lower the town’s crime rate, as CrimeOnline previously reported.

Anthony De La Torre, an officer in the department, filed the complaint, claiming at the time that Atesiano told cops that if they “see anybody black walking through our streets and they have somewhat of a record, arrest them so we can pin them for all the burglary.”

His guilty plea and jail sentence stem from complaints that three men were deprived of their civil rights as part of the defendant’s actions.

In court on Tuesday, Atesiano told Moore the he “was not prepared” for the position and “made some very, very bad decisions” as a result.

Three other Biscayne Park police officers have also pleaded guilty as part of the conspiracy. Two received one-year prison sentences for filing false affidavits framing a black teen.

The third received more than two years behind bars for false reports pertaining to two black men.

In a statement to the Miami Herald about the case, Miami-Dade public defender Carlos Martinez said Atesiano has a long record of fabricating charges.

“He created a culture of corruption that has further eroded public trust in the criminal justice system,” he said. “Just as appalling is the damage Atesiano has done to law-abiding, hard-working, police officers and chiefs.”

[Featured image: Raimundo Atesiano, Biscayne Park Police Department]