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This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #1160)
Drug War Issues

An Oklahoma police chief gets nailed for peddling meth, an Oklahoma prosecutor uses his position to get sexual favors, and more. Let's get to it:

In Tulsa, a former Ottawa County assistant district attorney was arrested April 27 over allegations he traded legal work for sex and drugs. Daniel Thomas Giraldi is accused of obtaining sexual favors in exchange for special treatment of some defendants and of inducing women to travel with him for sex in exchange for money or drugs. Investigators recorded numerous incriminating phone calls and text messages where Giraldi agreed to do legal favors in exchange for sex. When he met with a confidential informant on one of his assignations, he gave her a bag containing several pills that were later found to be controlled substances. He also had condoms with him. He is charged with accepting bribery as a public official, interstate racketeering, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and drug trafficking.

In St. Louis, a county jail guard was arrested May 7 for smuggling fentanyl into the facility at least twice last fall, leading to two non-fatal overdoses among inmates. Jailer Joeisha Cofer went down after authorities found text messages between her and an inmate, who was also charged after a search turned up 33 fentanyl pills in his cell. Both Cofer and the inmate are charged with delivery of possession of a controlled substance at a jail. Cofer is now residing at her former place of work after a judge refused to grant her bail.

In Placerville, California, an El Dorado Sheriff's Office correctional officer was arrested May 11 after allegedly showing up for work high. Jailer Anthony Horne, 29, drew the suspicion of coworkers upon arrival at the jail and was then arrested for driving under the influence. When deputies then searched him, they found methamphetamine on his person. In addition to DUI, he is now charged with possession of a controlled substance and bringing a controlled substance to the jail.

In Calvin, Oklahoma, the Calvin police chief was arrested May 13 on charges he was using and selling methamphetamine. Chief Joe Don Chitwood was arrested by Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics agents after a month-long investigation prompted by a tip that he was involved with meth. After Chitwood sold $20 worth of meth to an undercover informant, agents raided his residence and found more meth. He has since resigned as police chief, leaving the town with no police force since he was the sole member of the department.

In Fort Myers, Florida, a guard at the Charlotte Correctional Institution was sentenced Monday to 2 ½ years in federal prison for trying to smuggle drugs into the prison. Guard Leslie Spencer, 49, went down in a sting in which an inmate working as an FBI snitch got him to agree to smuggle three ounces of meth, three ounces of MDMA, and two cellphones into the prison. After making the deal, Spencer met an FBI agent posing as a drug supplier and took possession of the meth, MDMA, cellphones, and payment for the smuggling operation. He pleaded guilty in September 2021 to attempting to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

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