"...That police chief lose his $92,000/year job because..."
and that's just the legit money from his paycheck.
Virginia sheriff, 12 employees indicted By SUE LINDSEY, Nov. 2, 2006, Associated Press Writer
ROANOKE, Va. - A sheriff and 12 of his uniformed employees have been indicted in a racketeering case that claims
drugs seized from criminals were being resold, sometimes out of a sergeant's home, court records unsealed Thursday show.
The 34-count indictment also charges a postal worker, a probation officer and five citizens.
William R. Reed, one of the indicted citizens, told investigators he was a middleman in the distribution ring and paid a sheriff's sergeant to use the house he owned for drug distribution, according to the indictment.
Reed began cooperating in the investigation after he was arrested last year on charges of possession with intent to distribute narcotics.
The indictment alleges that, starting in 1998, drugs seized by the Henry County Sheriff's Office have been sold to citizens like Reed for distribution. It says the
drugs included cocaine, steroids and marijuana.
Sheriff Frank Cassell was charged with impeding the investigation by the FBI and federal drug enforcement agents.
Others named in the indicted issued Tuesday face charges including racketeering conspiracy, firearms charges, narcotics distribution, obstruction of justice and perjury.
Cassell has been sheriff since 1992 in the rural county of about 58,000 residents along the North Carolina line. The area is a former textile and furniture region that has fallen on hard times with the closing many factories.
The sheriff's office has 122 employees, according to its Web site.
