Here’s your traffic ticket, ma’am. Will that be cash, Visa or sex?
By David Menzies
What do you get when you cross “Ponch” (Erik Estrada’s character from CHiPs) with Tiger Woods?
It would probably be someone who very much resembles Florida Highway Patrol trooper Wilfredo Bennett.
Alas, Wilfredo apparently fancies himself as a Latin lover. In fact, it’s a shtick he was employing to a somewhat unacceptable extreme with traffic code violators assuming said violators were: A. female; and B. hot. At least one such motorist was given the option of getting out of her traffic ticket… as long as she agreed to hook up with Officer Feel-Good after hours.
Court records show that following a 2008 crash investigation, the 39-year-old Bennett informed Donna Michelle Herbst that he wouldn’t bother showing up for her court date if she contested the ticket.
The catch? She had to make dinner for him. Oh, and Bennett was interested in some dessert, too. Indeed, Herbst told investigators she had sex with Bennett on 20 occasions – sometimes when he was still on duty.
Incredibly, a police officer conducting himself in such a fashion is indeed against the rules when it comes to enforcing the Florida Traffic Code.
Bennett is accused of betraying his oath to uphold the law in return for regular sex. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
After that little threesome, Bennett’s sex scheme was toast.
Court records show Herbst initially challenged her careless driving tickets days after the crash, which meant Bennett would have to testify against her or the case would be dropped. Naturally, Bennett emailed the court claiming that an injury prevented him from testifying. As such, the case would have to be dismissed if the court date couldn’t be reset. How convenient!
For her part, Herbst testified she called Bennett not out of fear or obligation, but because she actually found him “interesting.” Said Herbst: “He seemed like a cool guy to hang out with.” (Insert laugh track here.)
Ah, such is love. In the final analysis, Herbst developed a case of cold feet and decided to, er, come clean. As for Bennett, he’ll have plenty of free time to contemplate his abuse of authority: the trooper has since been terminated.
Posted by: UNCLENELSON | 2010-01-28 3:55:58 AM
IF SHE DID IT WITH HIM 20 TIMES,SHE MUST HAVE BEEN WILLING.OTHERWISE SHE WOULD HAVE
REPORTED HIM A LOT SOONER.AS WITH TIGER, WOMEN ARE WILLING TO HAVE SEX WITH MARRIED GUYS AS LONG AS THEY GET TO RAT ON THEM LATER.IT GIVES THEM A SENSE OF POWER.DON'T TRUST THEM.
Posted by: Rickedy | 2010-01-29 4:36:43 AM
He gives them a way out. Don't know if it's right or wrong. People have been trading like that for thousands of years.
Don't matter because he's in the slammer anyway.
Posted by: Nadia | 2010-01-29 10:46:34 AM
Its kinda interesting .. Your a smoking hot girl who has fantasizing about being pulled over by a cop and then have sex to get away from a ticket .. I think she just wanted that to come true.
Posted by: Ouch | 2010-01-29 11:22:49 AM
Well, they'd better seperate him from other inmates, or else it'll be his turn to sell his body for "leniency"
Posted by: Bozo | 2010-01-29 11:40:16 AM
Yeah, but now he is paying with sex to get out of his prison pickles.
Posted by: blah | 2010-01-29 2:53:05 PM
I think he should lose his job .... but jail time nawww. He gave the ticket out but she ended up going on a "date" with him.
My guess is she was a willing participant up until she found out he had a wife.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Posted by: r2d2 | 2010-01-29 5:28:18 PM
The officer not only failed to uphold the law, but also abused his power as a police officer, and in a sleek way solicited prostitution. He should be in jail. I doubt this was the first or only woman to be a victim of his little game.
Posted by: give me a break | 2010-01-29 8:53:43 PM
It was a speeding ticket, not a murder or some terrible crime she committed that he let her get away with. He abused his power over something minor and lost his job. I think the case is closed.
She slept with him over 20 times for a speeding ticket!!
If it was prostitution she could have paid the ticket off over 20 times.
Posted by: Country Joe | 2010-02-01 8:48:51 AM
Nowadays that judges get chamber visits from hookers and divorce plaintiffs for leniency or a favourable decision, it's hardly surprising that patrolmen are also looking for an easy nookie.
It just illustrates the thorough corruption of the system. Slick Willie defied impeachment, dubya is still a free war-criminal, rumsfeld is retired comfortably, so what do you expect?
Posted by: 15 years?! | 2010-02-02 10:44:39 PM
15 years?!? Granted it's a violation of his oath and he should definitely lose his job but 15 years?! Maybe 6 months, at most. He's guilty of letting her off a parking ticket, not letting her off the rap for murder. Heck, you could probably commit murder and get a similar sentence.
Posted by: 48 Mick | 2010-02-03 12:00:45 AM
I think Country Joe got it about right. Cop doesn't have to prove anything in court; the judge just takes his word over that of a civilian. Good thing this jerk ran afoul of a squealer like the ones who did in Tiger. Yeah the system's corrupt, the bankers on ponzi street got away with destroying the economy of the world; Obama's paying them off. So lets hear it Country Joe; lets hear the fish cheer,
Gimme an F.............
Posted by: SP | 2010-02-07 8:40:30 PM
Let's play typical cop and young MALE driver.
"Let's see what we have here shall we? 1 count of perverting the course of Justice, 1 count of dereliction of duty, 1 count of misuse of government property, 1 count of solicitation, 1 count of fraud, 20 counts of adultery.....
Shall I read out the rest of the charges or would you just like a print out copy of the court record?
For the life of me I cannot understand why so many people hold law enforcement officers in such contempt.
Posted by: Sean | 2010-02-09 1:57:45 AM
After 20 times, I'm not sure anyone was taken advantage of here.The lady even says she didnt feel obligated to call.
The cop is certainly guilty of bad judgement and should be fired, but i say less than a year is plenty. The only reason I think any jail time is warranted is punishment for his lack of judgement. He should have just asked her out, since she obviously liked him. Then there would be no crime at all
Posted by: Doug Inkster | 2010-02-09 4:29:20 PM
How many others did this scum victimize? For the life of me I cannot understand why so many people hold law enforcement officers in such contempt.