Prosecutors Allege New York Police Officer Planned a Hit on Witness in Criminal Case

New York – The allegations against New York City Police Officer Jose Ramos just get worse and worse.

Now, Bronx prosecutors are alleging that Ramos, 43, and his wife conspired to hire a hit man to murder a witness in his criminal case.

Ramos is at the center of a ticket fixing scandal.

Ramos and his wife, Wanda Abreu were charged Thursday with conspiracy.

Prosecutors say he tried to arrange the contract killing from behind bars where he is awaiting trial on drug running charges. Prosecutors did not disclose the target of the hit. They say the plot was recorded in jailhouse phone calls.

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"They need him," the prosecutor, Omer Wiczyk, said in court that Ramos had said to his wife, according the Wall Street Journal. "Without him there is no case."

While investigators were looking into Ramos, they came across evidence of officers fixing tickets for friends and family. A dozen officers were charged criminally for making tickets disappear, which many officers said was not a crime, but rather a courtesy.

Ramos' attorney says they were blindsided by the additional charges.

Both Ramos and Abreu have pleaded not guilty to three counts of conspiracy and one count of criminal solicitation, according to published reports.

Wiczyk said Ramos and his wife planned for a reduction of the $500,000 bail and had also planned to be in Texas while the witness was killed, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"Ramos and Abreu have no problems having an individual murdered," Wiczyk is quoted by the newspaper as saying. "They just did not want to get their hands dirty."

Ramos is a 17-year veteran.

This story contains material from The Associated Press.