A couple of strange and disturbing items this week, plus some good, old-fashioned thievery. Let's get to it:

[image:1 align:left]In Quincy, Illinois, an Adams County probation officer was arrested last Friday on charges he was cooking meth at his home with a probationer who resided with him. Probation officer John Grotts, who also served as the department's drug court liaison, went down after the Adams County Sheriff's Office and the West Central Illinois Drug Task Force raided and searched his home following complaints from neighbors. Grotts is charged with possession of methamphetamine and unlawful use of a property to violate the Methamphetamine Control Act, both felonies. His probationer roommate, who was also a graduate of the drug court program Grotts monitored, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for illegal possession of meth precursors.

In Milwaukee, a former Milwaukee police officer pleaded guilty last Monday to eight charges for conducting illegal strip searches and body cavity searches on black male drug suspects. Michael Vagnini, 34, had faced 25 criminal charges, including seven counts of sexual assault, but those charges were dropped, and he pleaded no contest to four felony and four misdemeanor counts of misconduct in public officer. Prosecutors said Vagnini regularly pulled over drivers on pretenses such as not wearing a seat belt and searched them without legal reason, often conducting searches of men's anal and scrotal areas, including inserting his finger into their rectums. Three other police officers charged with Vagnini -- Jeffrey Dollhopf, Brian Kozelek and Jacob Knight -- had had their cases separated because they face fewer counts and were not charged with sexual assault. They are charged with misconduct in office and being parties to the crimes of illegal searches, based on their on-duty presence when prosecutors say Vagnini committed them. They are set for June trials. All are suspended with pay, as Vagnini was until he pleaded no contest.

In Phoenix, a former Maricopa County Sheriff's deputy pleaded guilty last Tuesday to stealing money that was supposed to be paid to a confidential drug informant. Torrey McRae made off with more than $5,000 in snitch cash and later tried to repay the money without being detected, but it was too late. His supervisors had already noticed discrepancies in the account used to transfer money to informants, and he was arrested in March. He pleaded guilty to one count of theft, two counts of forgery, and two counts of misuse of public money by a custodian. He will be sentenced May 20.