NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Two retired New York  detectives were sentenced yesterday to life in prison after  being convicted of murdering for an organized crime family.

Louis Eppolito, 61, and Stephen Caracappa, 67, were  sentenced in Brooklyn federal court after a jury in 2006 found  them guilty of racketeering and conspiracy, which included  their roles in 11 murders or attempted murders between 1986 and  1990 for New York’s Luchese crime family. Their original  convictions were overturned but then reinstated on appeal.

Local media dubbed them the “Mafia cops.”

“They can’t take my soul, they can’t take my pride, they  can’t take my dignity. I earned it, I was a hard-working cop,”  Eppolito said during the sentencing, protesting his innocence.  “I never hurt anybody, I never kidnapped anybody.”

Caracappa also denied the crimes and said, “You will never  take away my will to continue to prove how innocent I am.” Both  men are appealing their convictions.

Prosecutors said during the trial that Caracappa and  Eppolito used their police cars and badges to stop or kidnap  unsuspecting victims and that mob bosses routinely boasted it  was easy to rub out enemies because they had two detectives on  the payroll for $4,000 a month apiece.