Niagara Falls Police Officer Stephanie A. Costanzo suspected her boyfriend was selling drugs but didn't want to believe it, according to court papers.

Costanzo, 28, who was arrested on drug charges last month, now faces a new federal drug conspiracy charge with two others, Raymond C. Hopson and Lindsay R. Carrier Jr.

In the complaint against the three defendants, a Niagara Falls Police detective says Costanzo admitted accompanying Hopson two or three times a week while he picked up money.

She also admitted carrying a 38-caliber semi-automatic pistol in her purse while traveling with Hopson, according to an affidavit signed by the detective.

"Costanzo was asked why she never confronted him with what he was doing, especially because she is a police officer," the detective said in his statement. "Costanzo stated she didn't want to believe he was selling drugs."

The complaint also claims Costanzo told police she last saw Hopson with cocaine a few days before their arrest when she handed him "a scale that was in her bedroom on the nightstand."

Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy said the federal charges stem from a federal investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Niagara Falls Police Department.