federal judge has sentenced the wife of a former Philadelphia police officer to 10 years and six months in prison for plotting to steal heroin from a drug dealer and resell it for cash

federal judge has sentenced the wife of a former Philadelphia police officer to 10 years and six months in prison for plotting to steal heroin from a drug dealer and resell it for cash, a scheme that also involved her husband and two other officers.

Christal Snyder, 28, pleaded guilty earlier this year to helping plan the heist by passing information between her husband, two other police officers, and Angel Ortiz, a drug dealer who has children with Snyder's sister.

Snyder's husband, Robert, was sentenced to 13 years in prison last week. The couple's three children - ages 11, 7, and 4 months - will be cared for by Christal Snyder's mother while their parents are in prison.

"This is one of the most painful sentencings I've been a part of," U.S. District Court Chief Judge Harvey Bartle said during Monday's proceedings. "It is indeed one of the saddest."

Snyder, her husband, Ortiz, and two other officers planned to steal almost 300 grams of heroin from a drug dealer last year. The officers discussed the scheme with a man they believed was a drug dealer and money launderer, but in fact was an undercover DEA agent who recorded their conversations.

Moments after a drug courier delivered heroin to Ortiz last May, Officers Mark Williams and James Venziale pretended to stop Ortiz's car and arrest him, giving the courier the impression that the drugs were seized. The officers and Ortiz planned to have the drugs resold and split the profits.

Venziale pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to 31/2 years in prison. Williams, convicted in a trial, has not yet been sentenced.

Snyder and her husband were also charged and sentenced for plotting to rob a supposed Mafioso of cash.

Snyder's attorney, Robert McCann, asked that Bartle impose the minimum sentence of 10 years. Before Snyder's arrest last July, she had no criminal record, and McCann said she had cooperated with authorities.

"She took responsibility," he said.

McCann said that Snyder was not a danger to the public and was remorseful. Snyder will serve her time in either Connecticut or West Virginia, McCann said, adding that family members would not be able to afford to visit more than twice a year.

Snyder said little during the sentencing and barely raised her head. Sniffling, she told Bartle that her 7-year-old daughter has a medical condition that may require surgery and that their 11-year-old daughter, "cries a lot" since the arrests.

"It hurts so much to think about being away from my children," she said.

More than a dozen tearful friends and family members sat in the courtroom, including Snyder's husband, whom McCann said she had known since she was 13.

Bartle called Snyder's actions "incomprehensible" and said his heart went out to her children.

"Your desire to satisfy your greed seemed to be more important than the welfare of your children," he said. "You lost your moral compass."