DELAWARE - A suspended officer with the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement has been indicted on felony charges for trading division-controlled cartons of cigarettes for drugs and money, according to a Wednesday announcement from the Department of Justice.
The investigation began in October when supervising officers from the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement became suspicious that 33-year-old officer Joseph Dominic wasn't correctly handling seized cartons of cigarettes. The DOJ said Delaware State Police were called in to investigate his actions.
Detectives discovered Dominic had been issued 30 cartons of cigarettes from supervisors in order to provide them to other law enforcement agencies. Instead, Dominic is accused of providing the cartons to an unauthorized third party for sale. The profits were allegedly shared evenly between them, and authorities believe the third party also provided him with illegal drugs. Dominic is also accused of submitting false information in police reports in order to hide his actions.
"Law enforcement is not immune from addiction," said John Yeomans, chief of the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement. "In this case, our officer succumbed to it, violating laws and failing to uphold the public's trust."
Yeomans continued to say that the division took appropriate steps in initiating the criminal investigation, that it understands the seriousness of the situation and wants to assure the public that all necessary measures are being taken.
Dominic faces five felonies for official misconduct, theft and conspiracy in addition to one misdemeanor for illegal possession of a controlled substance.