BEIJING, Mar. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- In one of the most startling allegations of police scandals, U.S. federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged two former New York City police detectives with taking part in eight murders masterminded by the Mafia while one or both were still police officers.

    The charges were detailed in an indictment unsealed in Federal District Court in Brooklyn. The two men could face up to life in prison if convicted. 

    None of the eight murders charged in the case occurred after the first, failed attempt to make a case against the men who had long been suspected of a link with organized crime, The New York Times reported on its Web site on Friday.

    The men had gotten lucrative pay for their role in the killings and for routinely leaking secret information about criminal investigations to other members of organized crime, according to the report, citing charges by the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn Roslynn R. Mauskopf. Enditem    

    (Agencies)