Weekly:
This
Week's
Corrupt
Cops
Stories
7/1/05
Another week, another batch of crooked law enforcement personnel. A sticky-fingered evidence room guard gets his reward, a long-running Dallas scandal takes down another cop, a New York City transit cop gets in trouble for his day job, and yet another prison guard gets caught peddling goodies to the inmates. Let the drum roll of dishonor commence: In Daytona Beach, Florida, a Volusia County Sheriff's Department civilian employee was sentenced to three years in prison June 23 for stealing more than a million dollars worth of drugs from the department's evidence room. Timothy Wallace, 48, pleaded guilty in April to charges of official misconduct and conspiracy to traffic cocaine. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that angry Wallace family members said he was forced into a plea deal and was being scapegoated. Oddly, while Wallace faced up to 30 years in prison, Assistant State Attorney Jeanne Statis asked for only three. She told the newspaper she had made that sentencing recommendation at the request of the sheriff's department. She also said Wallace could have received even less time -- for stealing a million dollars worth of police dope? In Dallas, the fake-drug scandal where Dallas Police narcotics detectives sent dozens of men to prison based on seized drugs that turned out to be gypsum, the stuff used to make pool chalk or sheetrock, has claimed another police officer. On Tuesday, Chief David Kunkle fired Sgt. Jack Gouge, who supervised the officer at the center of the scandal, narc Mark Delapaz, who earlier this year was sentenced to five years in prison for lying to a judge to obtain a search warrant in the case. Delapaz is out on bail pending an appeal. Sgt. Gouge was also the supervisor of two other Dallas police officers fired but not prosecuted for their roles, detectives Eddie Herrera and David Larsen. Gouge was fired after a departmental investigation concluded that he failed to perform as a supervisor, meet with confidential informants, review search warrants, or follow instructions from superiors. Gouge's attorney, Bob Baskett, told the Dallas Morning News his client was overworked. For more on this complex, long-running scandal, check out the Morning News' in-depth, online report. In Huappauge, New York, a rookie cop for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was arrested for peddling cocaine, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office announced June 23. Officer Donald Howell, 32, was arrested a week earlier after undercover officers bought coke from him several times during a seven-month investigation into a suburban New York City cocaine ring. DA Thomas Spota told the Associated Press that drug selling was Howell's main source of income before he entered the police academy in January 2004 -- leading one to wonder just when authorities figured that out. Howell is being held on $500,000 bail. Eight other people were also arrested, including Howell's girlfriend, who was charged with "attempted conspiracy." In Augusta, Maine, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency announced June 23 it had arrested a Maine State Prison guard for peddling heroin. Sean Greenleaf, 32, was busted after a two-month investigation into drug smuggling into the state prison at Warren. After receiving information that a prison guard was involved, an undercover agent contacted by Greenleaf agreed to deliver him 9 grams of heroin and an ounce-and-a-half of marijuana. According to the plan, Greenleaf would then smuggle the drugs into the prison, but he was instead arrested as soon as he took possession of the drugs. Greenleaf, who had worked at the prison only since February, was charged with aggravated heroin trafficking and at last report was being held pending making bail.
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