HEADLINE: Ex-cop eyed in cocaine theft; Retired officer's lavish lifestyle spurs suspicion 

An internal investigation into the theft of 20 kilograms of cocaine from a Chicago police evidence room has narrowed to a retired officer who had suspicious spending habits, a police official confirmed Friday.

Meanwhile, police are investigating whether the same officer is responsible for another stash of missing narcotics taken from the same evidence room, according to department sources. 

One source familiar with the second lot of missing drugs said it was also cocaine, worth as much as $3 million. The other source could not verify the amount.

Those drugs were missing shortly after Cook County prosecutors discovered that 20 kilograms of cocaine, inventoried after a 1997 bust, had been stolen, another source said.

In the first case, officials have focused the investigation on an officer who retired three years ago after 23 years on the force. He allegedly stole the cocaine in 1997 from an evidence warehouse at the Criminal Courts Building at 26th Street and California Avenue, then sold the drugs for profit.

Police spokesman David Bayless confirmed that the investigation had narrowed to one person and that the officer's lavish spending raised suspicions. But he would not discuss details of the case.

During the investigation, authorities had tried to identify every employee who would have used the warehouse or had access to it in the four years between the time the cocaine was inventoried and when it was discovered to be missing.

Among other things, according to a department source, the officer under investigation allegedly used the money for gambling junkets and to buy a Rolls-Royce automobile.

In addition to financial records suggesting spending above the officer's means, investigators have allegedly located a narcotics dealer who claims to have bought the cocaine from the officer, the source said.

The cocaine was discovered missing from the Evidence and Recovered Property Section in April 2001. Prosecutors made the discovery the day before an Indianapolis man went on trial for dealing the drugs.

When prosecutors went to pick up the evidence, they found a box containing a duffel bag and a 35mm camera instead of the 20 individually wrapped bundles of powdered cocaine that was supposed to be there.

Despite the theft, the Indiana man pleaded guilty to the drug charges and was immediately released from Cook County Jail, where he had been held since his arrest in July 1997.

The Evidence and Recovered Property Section, which has since moved to a new facility on the West Side, has been blamed over the years for millions of dollars in missing narcotics as well as other misplaced or lost pieces of evidence, including evidence in rape cases.

Two months before the drugs were noted missing, a Rogers Park woman's $16,000 in jewelry was found to be missing or stolen. The previous year, the unit inadvertently destroyed evidence in the trial of the man accused in the savage beating of a 9-year-old girl known as Girl X. 

HEADLINE: Wilson fired from area drug task force 

Kenneth Wilson, 53, of Etowah pleaded not guilty and waived an arraignment through his attorney, Don Reid, in McMinn County General Sessions Court on Thursday. 

Mr. Wilson was arrested Tuesday night by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officers. 
According to TBI papers filed with the court clerk's office, the arresting agents found drugs during an investigation at Mr. Wilson's home. 

The decision to dismiss the director came at a drug task force board meeting late Wednesday, officials said. 

The board is composed of the sheriffs in Bradley, McMinn, Monroe and Polk counties, plus the Athens chief of police. 

Bradley County deputy and former drug task force member Jack Damuth has been appointed interim director of the unit, officials said. 

Jerry Estes, district attorney for the 10th District, said guidelines are being prepared to search for a new task force director. He said board members also suggested reviewing agency policies and procedures. 

"They want to see the (task force) succeed," Mr. Estes said. 

Mr. Wilson was task force director for four years. The organization is an independent investigative force financed through state grants, local funds, fines and forfeitures, officials said. 

Mr. Estes said he learned Tuesday from an assistant district attorney that something might be missing from the task force evidence room. He called the TBI, which searched Mr. Wilson's home and discovered cocaine, he said. 

Investigators have not said whether any evidence actually was missing or if the cocaine was part of the evidence. 

Mr. Wilson is free on $2,000 bond on the misdemeanor charge. 

E-mail Ron Clayton at jwalton@timesfreepress.com 

HEADLINE: Tearful ex-officer receives two-year house arrest sentence for gun theft 

BYLINE: Mike Hoyem, Staff 

Woodby - who ran for sheriff of Lee County in 1988 - pleaded guilty June 20 to dealing in stolen property, grand theft of firearms and official misconduct for stealing the guns from the department's evidence vault.

Investigators say Woodby, 61, who had worked in the evidence section since 1997, stole at least 11 guns and sold several at gun shows.

One of the missing guns was related to an unsolved murder case and another was sold for $400 to a police Explorer Scout with the Fort Myers Police Department. 

Assistant State Attorney Dean Plattner told 20th Circuit Chief Judge William L.Blackwell that Woodby should spend time in jail.

Plattner called Woodby's crimes "an ongoing and longtime, systematic abuse of the evidence room."

But after hearing from Woodby's wife, Sarah, who said her husband's absence would upset their son, who has Down syndrome, the judge said he saw no point in jailing Woodby.

In addition to house arrest, Woodby was put on 10 years of probation, ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution and $304 in court costs. Though the judge put him on house arrest, he also told him to stay employed.

"It will not serve you well to sit at home and feel sorry for yourself," Blackwell said.
Woodby will have to pay the cost of an investigation that went through 20,000 pieces of evidence, too.

Attorney John Shearer Jr. of Fort Myers, who represents Woodby, asked the judge to delay a ruling on the amount Woodby must pay.

Police have put the cost at more than $20,000, Shearer said, adding that he wants to go over some records before agreeing to the bill.

Woodby - who wiped away tears during the 40-minute hearing - told the judge he was ashamed.

"I'd like to apologize to the Fort Myers Police Department," he said. "I'd like to apologize to my friends and my family."

Fort Myers Police Capt. Glenn Johnson testified during the hearing Woodby tried to cover up his actions by doctoring paperwork to make it appear the guns he stole had been destroyed.

The thefts, he said, have damaged the department's credibility in court because "the integrity of the vault has come into question because of the guns that have been taken as well as other items."

Johnson said the weapon related to the murder case may have been mislabeled so Woodby wouldn't have known it was for that case.

Fort Myers Police spokeswoman Kara Winton said the gun was related to the unsolved murder of Reginald Graves in 1990.

She said Woodby has been charged with stealing 11 guns, but there could be more.
"The total number of guns is still being actively investigated," she said.

Winton said the "other items" Johnson mentioned in court were "other weapons," but she wouldn't elaborate.

Woodby, who started as a police officer with the Fort Myers Police Department in 1967, was defeated in the 1988 Democratic sheriff's primary by Mason Scott.

His first major brush with controversy came in 1971, when he shot to death a man who had escaped from the Lee County Jail.

Two coroner's juries deadlocked on whether the shooting was justified. State Attorney Joseph D'Alessandro then took the case to a grand jury, which declined to indict Woodby.

Woodby served as police chief in Frostproof, a town in Polk County, for about a year before being named chief of the Lee County Airport Police in 1977.

He resigned that post in 1981 after being accused by former Sheriff Frank Wanicka of spreading "malicious rumors" about Wanicka.

HEADLINE: Former LA officer surrenders to serve five-year term 

DATELINE: LOS ANGELES 

Nino Durden, 34, surrendered Thursday to begin his sentence for perjury, filing false police reports and conspiracy to obstruct justice, attorney Bill Seki said. 

"It's over," he said. 

Durden pleaded guilty in March to six state charges. He was sentenced for various crimes, including shooting unarmed gang member Javier Francisco Ovando on Oct. 12, 1996. Ovando was paralyzed by his wounds. 

A judge said Durden can serve his state time in federal prison, where he was already sentenced to three years for civil rights violations and possession of an illegal firearm. The sentences will run concurrently. 

Authorities reduced his sentence because of his willingness to talk to both federal and state investigators about allegations that Rampart Station officers beat, framed and shot innocent people. 

Durden's ex-partner, Rafael Perez, told authorities about the alleged misconduct in 1999 in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence for stealing cocaine from an evidence room. He was later sentenced to two years in federal prison for civil rights violations. 

In the wake of the scandal, more than 100 convictions were thrown out and several officers were fired, resigned or pleaded guilty to crimes. 

HEADLINE: A major in the Barnesville Police Department shot and killed himself... 

DATELINE: BARNESVILLE 

After Maj. Terrell Piper, 40, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest, investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found military explosives in his house, the statement said. It was unclear Friday if the explosives were related to the missing evidence. 

Sept. 6, Piper was accompanied to his home by Chief C.S. Keadle and Capt. Craig Cooper. 
The two officers had received information that Piper might be in possession of items missing from the Barnesville Police Department evidence room, Waller said in the statement. 

At least two missing items were found at Piper's home, Waller said. As Cooper examined the items, which officials would not identify, Piper walked outside to his patrol car. Waller said the officers thought he was going to answer a radio call. 

When Piper returned, he was carrying a handgun that was not his service weapon, Waller said. He began to make threatening comments and gestures toward himself and the other two officers, Waller said. 

Keadle and Cooper tried to calm him and Cooper tried to get Piper's father, who lives next door. 

Piper removed his uniform shirt, hung it on a heavy fence post and said to tell his wife and children that he loved them. He entered the passenger seat of an abandoned car on his property and shot himself in the chest, Waller said. 

The chief and captain called an ambulance and the sheriff's office. Waller called the GBI. 
Late in the afternoon, a search warrant was executed and Piper's house was entered. Inside, GBI agents found military explosives and ordnance, Waller said. U.S. Army and GBI experts removed the explosives and destroyed them, Waller said. A number of firearms were also found. 

The Rev. Benny Tate, pastor of Rock Spring Congregational Methodist Church, said he married Piper and his wife. The couple had three children. 

Tate said Piper was very interested in others. He taught karate classes and ran a self defense class for women at the church. 

"He was the type of guy who enjoyed having a good time," Tate said. "He enjoyed music. 
Piper played in a blues/rock band. 

The GBI is continuing an investigation into the explosives, Piper's death and the circumstances that led to the shooting. 

HEADLINE: JURY CONVICTS EX-OFFICER IN THEFT OF DRUG MONEY 

Alandas McGraw, who has been fired from the Police Department, was convicted by a federal court jury of conspiracy, money laundering and defrauding a government agency. 

He was the forfeiture and settlement officer of the Police Department's vice and narcotics unit. Authorities said McGraw had the authority and control of the necessary paperwork to pave the way for the city to cut two settlement checks that were split among himself and two others.

McGraw, 32, faces a maximum of more than 100 years in prison when he is sentenced in December by U.S. Dist. Judge Jon McCalla. Under a criminal forfeiture count, a judgment was returned against McGraw for $135,070.

In July, co-defendants Victor Bowen, 32, and Barbara Patrick, 41, pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy, mail fraud, embezzlement and money-laundering charges. They are set to be sentenced in October.

Bowen is McGraw's cousin.

All three also face related state charges.