ST. PAUL — A former St. Paul police officer convicted of using her friend’s identity to wire money to a prisoner has been sentenced to five years probation and 30 days in the workhouse.

Thirty-eight-year-old Ruby Diaz was convicted of identity theft, a felony, for using her best friend’s information to wire $1,500 to her then-boyfriend, who is serving six years in prison for attempted murder.

Diaz told the judge she didn’t commit the crime as an officer of the law, but rather, “as a person who happened to be a police officer.”

Judge Leonardo Castro admonished Diaz. The judge noted that he continues to “struggle” with her lack of understanding about her crime.

Diaz was fired from the department after a jury convicted her in December.