This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #708)
Drug War Issues

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:

[image:1 align:left]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 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office for review.

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Comments

HES (not verified)

Yeah this sucks and is probably very under-reported.  The whole system of Drug Court can be very intimidating - Probation can make home/work  visits anytime, and abuse clients. The treatment team can use their position to threaten action against a client that doesn't comply with their wishes.  Cops that run a check on a DC client could threaten new charges if they didn't perform sexual favors.  Fortunately this didn't happen to anyone I knew while attending my local DC program - for a bag of pot second offense.  If it did, and could, nobody reported it.  Drug Court just doesn't make sense for the average adult cannibis user that has never been in serious trouble before - but what can you do if you want to keep all your rights and don't want a felony on your record or do prison time....

 

--Former Drug Court Client (graduated).....Avid supporter of NORML--

 

BTW, Drug Court set me back in life 2 years and over $15,000 (it's over now, time to move on....Charge Dismissed/Expunged....I enjoy gun ownership once again...:)   

Fri, 11/11/2011 - 11:25am Permalink
drug court graduate (not verified)

ok personally i think that drug court works and helps only if you are willing to change your life

Wed, 11/16/2011 - 11:21am Permalink

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Source URL: https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2011/nov/09/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories