Weekly:
This
Week's
Corrupt
Cops
Stories
8/19/05
Another week, another set of corrupt cops, Or to be more precise, this week it's more jail guards in trouble, a US soldier pleading guilty to coke-smuggling, and a Florida cop turned drug dealer. Let's get to it: In Muskogee, Oklahoma, a Cherokee County sheriff's deputy and a jailer are on paid leave after marijuana and drug paraphernalia were found at the home they share, the Muskogee Phoenix reported. Cherokee County Sheriff Norman Fisher said Deputy Dusty Ryals and jailer Lynn Trammel are being investigated for allegedly smuggling drugs into the county jail and that he would seek investigators from outside the county to look into the matter. According to the sheriff, Ryals and Trammel deny taking drugs into the jail. Instead, Ryals claimed the drugs were drugs he had seized but took home because the lock on his work locker did not work. Authorities also found methamphetamine residue on a bong seized at the residence. No charges have yet been filed. In El Paso, one of four Fort Bliss soldiers accused of smuggling cocaine into the US from Colombia using military aircraft pleaded guilty August 10 on cocaine possession and distribution charges, as well as a count of making a false official statement, the Associated Press reported. Specialist Francisco Rosa, 25, will spend five years in prison, be busted down in rank to private, and be given a bad-conduct discharge. Rosa was arrested with fellow soldiers Staff Sgts. Daniel Rosas, Victor Portales, and Kevin Irizarry-Melendez earlier this year. The latter three face courts-martial later this year. All four are currently imprisoned at Fort Bliss. In Ocala, Florida, former Officer David Cizmadia was arrested August 12 on cocaine sales charges, the Associated Press reported. The bust came after the Multi-Agency Drug Enforcement Task Force received a tip in June. During a six-week investigation following the tip, the task force documented three occasions when Cizmadia allegedly sold drugs to an undercover informant. A police officer since 1994, Cizmadia suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after killing a man in November 2000 and was fired from the force in September 2001 after admitting he used cocaine in a suicide attempt. He is now charged with distribution of cocaine, possession of cocaine, and use of a two-way device to facilitate a felony. Cizmadia had filed suit against the department in July 2002 alleging negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and other claims related to his firing, but the Ocala Police said the suit had nothing to do with Cizmadia's arrest. Visit Dean Becker's Drug Truth radio network at http://www.drugtruth.net to hear Drug War Chronicle's Phil Smith read from "This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories" each week!
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