Lt. Thomas Foye Charged with Stealing Drugs from Evidence Locker

A high-ranking Ludlow police officer charged with stealing drugs from the department's evidence locker has been suspended without pay.

Lt. Thomas Foye had been suspended with pay since his arrest in August, but because he was indicted by a grand jury last week, the town's Select Board voted unanimously Tuesday to suspend him without pay.

According to court documents, video surveillance captured the 49-year-old Foye entering the locked narcotics locker at the police station, where he appears to handle and open evidence bags. He is charged with tampering with evidence, theft of drugs from a dispensary and cocaine possession.

In a brief statement at Tuesday's board meeting, the 25-year veteran thanked the board and said he "went into surgery a hero and came out a drug addict."

Former Officer Mitchel Wright Arrested for Selling Meth

Authorities say a former Washington police officer who spent time working for the DEA was arrested for the second time in less than a year last month after his life took a dark turn and he planned to become a drug kingpin.

Mitchel J. Wright, who joined the King County Sheriff's Department in 2002, was fired last year after being accused of stealing drug evidence while working undercover for the DEA. He was arrested on Feb. 11 after selling drugs to undercover officers on separate occasions. He reportedly bragged that he'd never be caught because knew every police tactic. His hubris was his downfall.

Wright, 33, resigned last July after a cop discovered a woman injecting herself with heroin inside of a vehicle registered to Wright. She told police that she lived with Wright and worked for him as an informant, and a subsequent search of the vehicle produced drugs and drug paraphernalia.

An internal investigation revealed that Wright was giving strippers heroin and methamphetamine to persuade them to work as drug dealers for him. His ultimate goal was to dominate the area drug trade using his authority, knowledge of the underworld and access to evidence.

After being placed on administrative leave, Wright resigned. Later that month, King County deputies discovered three baggies bearing DEA case numbers inside of his old police car. Each tested positive for heroin. It's estimated that Wright seized between $36,450 and $52,490 worth of drugs during his stint with the DEA and never turned them in as evidence.

For his most recent arrest, Wright was charged with distribution of over five grams of meth and conspiracy to distribute meth. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine.

Veteran Ohio Officer Steals Drugs and Overdoses

A 15-year-veteran police officer is suspected of stealing drugs from the police station and overdosing.

The patrolman overdosed in late-May at his home in Summit County and was rushed to the hospital, Chief Rick Porrello said. The officer resigned from his job but is exhausting his sick hours until sometime next month, the chief said.

The Summit County Sheriff's Office notified Porrello when deputies found the officer at his home. He declined to name the drug taken by the officer because of the ongoing investigation, but said it was small amount, the chief said.

The officer recovered.

Porrello said he was shocked when he learned the drugs may have been taken from the police headquarters. He described the cop as a good officer who will face consequences for his bad decision.

"He will be held accountable criminally," Porrello said. "He will no longer be a police officer in Lyndhurst or anywhere for that matter."

Porrello asked the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation to investigate the case. The inquiry is nearly over and will be given to prosecutors, he said.

"He was a great cop," Porello added. "Nobody had any idea that he would make a choice like that."

Officer Allen Pettit Charged with Stealing Drugs

A former Fallowfield Township police officer is in jail today after he was formally charged Tuesday with stealing drugs from a case he investigated.

Allen E. Pettit, 46, of 824 Maple St., Harwick, was charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition, perjury, hindering apprehension or prosecution, tampering with or fabricating evidence and obstructing the law.

The case against Pettit stems from 2006, when he arrested Charles Paith, 26, of Van Voorhis. During the raid of Paith's house, Pettit seized 5 ounces of cocaine and nearly a pound of marijuana.

Washington County District Attorney Steve Toprani said Pettit is the last person to have custody of the drugs when he picked them up from a state police laboratory in March 2006.

The drugs were discovered missing when Pettit allegedly falsely testified in court during an April 2007 hearing that the evidence had been destroyed.

Toprani declined comment on the status of Paith's prosecution.

Washington County Chief County Detective Mike Aaron served an arrest warrant on Pettit in Springdale Township.

He was arraigned before Cheswick District Magisterial Judge David J. Sosovicka and remanded to the Washington County Correctional Facility in lieu of $50,000 straight cash bond.

Pettit faces a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Larry Hopkins in Charleroi at 2:45 p.m. Nov. 7.

Pettit resigned from the Fallowfield police department, where he was captain, in 2006.

In July 2007, he pleaded guilty to a charge of theft for using his municipal gas card to fill his private vehicle.

He was placed on probation for 12 months in the wake of that incident.



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