Geovani Nunez , Jorge Hernandez both 13-year veterans of the Miami Police Department, were paid a combined $39,500 by a man

Officer Geovani Nunez and Detective Jorge Hernandez, both 13-year veterans of the Miami Police Department, were paid a combined $39,500 by a man they thought was involved in numerous illegal businesses, prosecutors said. That man, however, was secretly an FBI informant and all of their conversations were taped.U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the case was particularly disheartening in a year when several South Florida police officers have died in the line of duty."It is sad that a handful of individuals choose to repay their colleagues' sacrifice through criminal conduct," Acosta said.Nunez and Hernandez were released on bail after appearing briefly in court Friday. Their lawyers said they would fight the charges, which carry potential life sentences.Nunez's attorney, Michael Catalano, said the FBI sting means that all of the allegedly illegal conduct was staged and not real."They are charged with committing crimes that did not exist," he said.It's was not immediately clear if Hernandez had an attorney.Court documents show that Nunez got involved with the informant in March 2007 after losing a part-time job at a Miami nightclub. Eventually he and Hernandez allegedly helped protect shipments -- sometimes using their police cars to escort trucks -- of what they thought were stolen televisions and computers and at least 12 kilograms of cocaine.Police Chief John Timoney said the two officers would be fired and that he hoped their alleged actions wouldn't hurt morale at the department."These two, as far as I'm concerned, are aberrations," Timoney said.The case is similar to a recent FBI sting that eventually involved charges against five officers of the Hollywood Police Department. Those five all pleaded guilty and four received lengthy prison sentences.