Two long-time Chicago police officers now possibly face spending up to 10 years in prison if they are convicted of stealing from the FBI. The two officers appeared in federal court on Monday and were charged with theft of government funds after the officers allegedly stole money from an individual who they thought was a Chicago drug dealer.

The two officers were arrested Sunday evening and have since been released from jail after posting bail. In addition to the officers paying $10,000 each to be released from police custody, the officers have been required to turn in all of their weapons and passports while their criminal cases are pending in federal court in Chicago. The officers have also been ordered not to have any contact with each other.

According to reports, the officers were under investigation after an informant for the FBI claimed that the officers had stolen $5,200 in cash from him. The informant, a homeless man who has been arrested nearly 100 times and has more than a dozen convictions on his criminal record, reportedly told the two Chicago officers on several different occasions that he was a drug courier.

On Nov. 21, the homeless man was assisting the FBI in an undercover operation when the two officers allegedly stole a bag containing $5,200 in cash from the homeless man. The bag also contained a tracking device that the FBI did have authorization from the court to use in the undercover operation.

One of the officers arrested on Sunday has been with the Chicago Police Department for 18 years. The other officer has been with the department for 14 years. Prior to the undercover operation, the informant allegedly told the FBI that the two officers had stolen cash from him before when they learned that the man was a drug courier.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times, "2 Chicago cops charged with stealing $5,200 in FBI sting," Kim Janssen, Feb. 13, 2012