Roanoke, Va. – A sheriff and 12 current and former officers in a hard-luck rural county that once billed itself the “Sweatshirt Capital of the World” were charged Thursday in a scheme to sell drugs seized from criminals.
A former postal worker, a former probation officer and five other people also were indicted by federal prosecutors. The charges included racketeering, conspiracy, weapons charges, narcotics distribution, obstruction of justice and perjury.
H. Franklin Cassell – the sheriff of Henry County, a former textile hub about 50 miles south of Roanoke – was quoted by investigators as saying the only way to acquire wealth is to be “a little crooked and not get caught.”
Cassell, 68, owns large tracts of land and a trucking company and has reported more than $20,000 in dividends yearly, the government said.
Prosecutors said that for the past eight years, cocaine, steroids, marijuana and other drugs that had been seized by the sheriff’s department were resold to the public.
A sergeant who agreed to cooperate with investigators was paid by the ring to use his house for distributing drugs, authorities said.
“It is disgraceful corruption,” U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said.
