VA - Sheriff & deputies arrested for racketeering, Henry County, 2006

This is the Sheriff of the county for the unsolved Jennifer Short and family murders. This is huge news around here!! But has been picked up on CNN also.

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/

The first page of the indictment lists the following charges: racketeering conspiracy, misprision of a felony, possession of stolen firearm, possession of firearm w/ Obliterated Serial Number , possession of a machine gun, false statement to federal agency, obstruction of justice, perjury, money laundering, narcotics distribution, cospiracy to distribute narcotics, attempted drug offense and possession of unregistered machine gun.


http://www.cnn.com/

WOW! That needs to happen in a few counties that I know of in WV too.

I would kinda like them to swing by NC and straighten things out there too.

My best regards to the officers who were NOT involved. It's propbably very stressful to be LE of any kind in that county right now.

L L & S said:

I would kinda like them to swing by NC and straighten things out there too.

My best regards to the officers who were NOT involved. It's propbably very stressful to be LE of any kind in that county right now.

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DITTO

and

DITTO

on both statements!

:waitasec: Am I the only one wondering if maybe the Shorts were killed by one of the people who were indicted, or it was covered up because one of their cronies killed them? :furious: :banghead: :behindbar Lock them all up and never let them out!!! Make sure they can't work connections to get extras while in prison too. Keep the inmates from killing them though, preferably by keeping them in isolation for the rest of their lives. Let them ROT!!! (It costs less, if I recall correctly to imprison someone for life, then go through the legal process of appeals required to put them to death, and they should NEVER be free in society again!!)

The Sheriff is familiar because of the Short case, which is still unsolved.

It's just an amazing charge by the feds that this many VA state law enforcement personnel were involved in something so criminal and shocking. I'll be watching this one as it develops, looking close at what evidence there is against these 20 men. With this many accused, there's a very good chance that at least one will be approached to testify for the feds in return for lesser charges or lighter sentence.

Interesting comments being made on local forum : http://www.roanoke.com/messages/messageList.aspx?MSID=1&MMID=306

A copy of the indictment here: http://www.roanoke.com/news/henryco.pdf

Several more articles here : http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/

One year into a corruption investigation targeting his department, Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell reportedly told a federal agent:

"If you think I'm crooked or if I got a bunch of crooked people, by God you investigate it and put me in court."

Seven months later, Cassell was shuffling into a federal courtroom in ankle chains.

A 48-count indictment brought down this week accuses sheriff's office employees of using and dealing drugs; stealing narcotics and guns from evidence and redistributing them in the community; and lying to federal investigators.

Cassell himself is accused of trying to throw federal agents off the trail to protect officers he knew were involved in illegal activity.

more at the link http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/89796

Sheriff Cassell got exactly what he demanded from the Feds. I feel bad for all of the LE officials who were not involved. This will make doing their job even harder than it already is.

Friday, December 29, 2006

By SHAWN HOPKINS - Bulletin Staff Writer



ROANOKE — Two former Henry County Sheriff’s officers faced a federal judge Thursday and admitted their roles in a scheme to steal drugs seized as evidence and then profit from putting them back out on the street.

Both James Alden Vaught, 33, and David Allan King, 49, pleaded guilty in separate U.S. District Court hearings before Judge James Turk. They signed plea agreements that allowed them to plead guilty to some of the charges against them and have others dismissed.



Vaught is a former sergeant and King is a former deputy, vice officer and school resource officer with the Henry County Sheriff’s Office.



King had faced a maximum of 70 years in prison and a $2 million fine on counts including racketeering conspiracy, drug conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making a false statement to a federal agent.



The plea agreement allowed him to plead guilty to only the racketeering conspiracy and drug conspiracy charges. The maximum penalty for those is a total of 40 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine.



Vaught was indicted on counts of racketeering conspiracy and drug conspiracy and faced a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine. Under the plea agreement, he was allowed to plead guilty to only the racketeering conspiracy count, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.



Turk ordered pre-sentence reports and said formal sentencing for both men would be scheduled later. Both will be sentenced according to federal guidelines, he said, but the judge may impose a sentence lower than those guidelines if the men cooperate with the investigation and prosecution of others charged in the case.



Turk told both men that it is up to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to make a motion noting such cooperation, called “substantial assistance,” and whether it does so depends on the level of their assistance.



They are the third and fourth men to plead guilty in a corruption scandal that involves a 48-count federal indictment against 20 people, including 10 other former sheriff’s office employees and former sheriff H. Frank Cassell.



Former deputy Bradley Scott Martin, 33, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and drug conspiracy as part of a plea agreement and William Randall Reed, 35, a furniture worker from Fieldale, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy.



Federal authorities allege that sheriff’s office employees sold seized drug evidence, stole guns and other items from the police evidence room and took steps to cover up those actions.

more at the link http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=7451

Shadow205 said:

Friday, December 29, 2006





...The plea agreement allowed him to plead guilty to only the racketeering conspiracy and drug conspiracy charges. The maximum penalty for those is a total of 40 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine.



Vaught was indicted on counts of racketeering conspiracy and drug conspiracy and faced a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine. Under the plea agreement, he was allowed to plead guilty to only the racketeering conspiracy count, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.



Turk ordered pre-sentence reports and said formal sentencing for both men would be scheduled later. Both will be sentenced according to federal guidelines, he said, but the judge may impose a sentence lower than those guidelines if the men cooperate with the investigation and prosecution of others charged in the case.



Turk told both men that it is up to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to make a motion noting such cooperation, called “substantial assistance,” and whether it does so depends on the level of their assistance.



They are the third and fourth men to plead guilty in a corruption scandal that involves a 48-count federal indictment against 20 people, including 10 other former sheriff’s office employees and former sheriff H. Frank Cassell.



Former deputy Bradley Scott Martin, 33, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and drug conspiracy as part of a plea agreement and William Randall Reed, 35, a furniture worker from Fieldale, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy.


Federal authorities allege that sheriff’s office employees sold seized drug evidence, stole guns and other items from the police evidence room and took steps to cover up those actions.

more at the link http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=7451

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Does it look to anyone else like they are going light on these guys?? They have violated public trust, taught schools full of kids that authority is corrupt and you should get what you can while you can and in any way you can, and degraded decades of good work by honest cops. They need mandatory 25 or greater years before consideration for parole. Crime under color of authority has always incensed me since we give so much power and trust to officers.


Crypto6

A plea deal is inevitable in these types of arrests in order to get cooperation. Their testimony is probably needed to get the top guys (esp the sheriff).
How many of these officers were involved in the Short case?