This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

A Border Patrol agent goes down for dirty-dealing, an NYPD cop gets nailed for peddling cocaine and ecstasy, an Indiana narcotics supervisor gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and more. Let's get to it:

[image:1 align:left]In McAllen, Texas, a US Border Patrol agent was arrested last Monday after he admitted working with drug dealers to stage a seizure of fake cocaine so that the real drugs could be distributed. Agent Eduardo Bazan Jr., 48, admitted taking $8,000 from a drug ring that ripped off cocaine from other suppliers, diluted the drugs, and then ensured that police seized them. It's not clear what the exact charges he faces are.

In Buckingham, Virginia, two state prison guards were arrested last Thursday after they were filmed buying drugs that federal agents said were intended to be smuggled into the Buckingham Correctional Center. The bust was part of a larger gang racketeering bust that netted 20 arrests in Virginia and New York. The two guards, Shonda Jones and Jaymese Jones, face as yet unspecified federal charges.

In New York City, a former NYPD officer was convicted last Thursday of helping to run drugs throughout the Bronx and providing protection to drug gangs. Merlin Alston, 33, was part of a long-running conspiracy to traffic large amounts of cocaine and ecstasy in the Bronx. He was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics and one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of the narcotics conspiracy. He's looking at a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence.

In Columbus, Indiana, a former Columbus police narcotics supervisor pleaded guilty last Thursday to stealing drugs from the department's evidence room under the guise of using them for training purposes. Jeremy Coomes, 39, checked out drug evidence from as many as 10 cases, and when it was returned, some of it was missing, some had been replaced with other substances, and evidence seals had been tampered with or altered. Coomes was originally hit with seven felonies, but copped to a single count of felony meth possession. He's looking at between three and 16 years in prison.

In Charleston, South Carolina, a former prison guard was sentenced last Wednesday to six months in prison for giving marijuana to a prisoner at the Estill Federal Correctional Institution. Anthony Jermaine Creech, 39, admitted delivering an ounce of pot to an inmate in exchange for money.