Former St. Paul police officer convicted of ID theft has a new job

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Longtime former St. Paul Police Officer Ruby Diaz was sentenced in early February to 30 days in the workhouse and 5 years probation for illegally funneling money to her boyfriend in prison. On Tuesday, she officially had a new job.

Diaz was found guilty of stealing her friend's identity to wire cash to her gang member boyfriend. The veteran police officer was convicted on identity theft charges, but acquitted on forgery charges. She is now a commissioner with the Minnesota Community Policing Services. David Singleton, the Executive Director for MCPS, said Diaz is already being held accountable for the mistakes that she made.

"What we're trying to do is, kids that have started on the wrong path, we want to divert them onto a positive path, and we need positive role models to do that," he said.

It's not a law enforcement agency, it's an organization "that believes in solutions and moving forward," Singleton said.

The 1-year-old nonprofit provides public safety, consulting and community mediation, serving as a liaison between the community and police.

"She's anxious as far as working with us because she's good at working with kids and doing things in the community," he added.

Diaz's peace officer license has been placed on inactive status -- a felony conviction results in an automatic license revocation. As for whether she can ever have a job in law enforcement again, Nate Gove, Executive Director of the POST Board, says the odds are not in her favor.

"It'd be very difficult in Minnesota under our rules. Agencies are required to do a thorough background check," Gove said.

Inside the MCPS satellite office, St. James AME Church in St. Paul, Diaz now has a monthly role, a stipend and new responsibilities to look forward to.

"She, like I said, has valuable assets to offer," Singleton said.