This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Sleazy, sleazy. That's what a Missouri drug court monitor is accused of being, plus we have a crooked Puerto Rican cop and a sticky-fingered Louisiana narc. Let's get to it:

In St. Louis, Missouri, a former Lincoln County sheriff's deputy was indicted November 3 on federal charges he sexually abused five female drug court participants he was monitoring. Scott Edwards, 49, was a part-time tracker for the drug court program between February 2009 and November 2010. He had sexual contact with three of the victims and "engaged in acts that resulted in bodily injury and included aggravated sexual abuse" with two others, according to the indictment. He also allegedly "restrained and confined one of the female victims by force, intimidation, and deception." He faces five civil rights-related charges: two felony counts of deprivation of rights under color of law including aggravated sexual abuse, one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law including kidnapping, and two misdemeanor counts of deprivation of rights under color of law including sexual contact. An attorney for the five women said Edwards threatened them with jail time if they didn't have sex with him, used drug court funds to rent hotel rooms so he could have easier access to them, and that when the women complained to drug court team members, they were ignored.

In San Juan, Puerto Rico, a former Puerto Rico police sergeant was sentenced November 4 to 12 ½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to import drugs from Colombia aboard ships. Victor Esquilin Rosa had also been charged with providing protection to drug traffickers who visited the US Caribbean territory. Esquilin is the latest of dozens of Puerto Rico police officers accused of drug trafficking in recent years.

In Bastrop, Louisiana, a Morehouse Parish Sheriff's office narcotics deputy has resigned following an audit that found what the sheriff called "a very small amount of funds" missing from an account used to purchase drugs from unsuspecting dealers. Lt. Chris Balsamo, a 14-year veteran with the department, submitted his resignation Tuesday. The sheriff said $100 was missing from a safe where money to make buy-bust cases was kept. An internal investigation is ongoing and its results will be forwarded to the 4^th Judicial District Attorney's Office for review.