An agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives pleaded guilty on Wednesday to stealing cash during an Oct. 18 drug raid in suburban Cleveland, Scripps Media reported.
Steven Campbell was part of a task force that raided a home in Lyndhurt. The drug suspect told agents he had a couple pounds of marijuana in a blue bag in the garage and between $45,000 and $50,000 under a dresser, Tickle the Wire reported. Campbell, along with at least one DEA agent, found the cash. Campbell began stuffing fistfuls of cash into his pockets, an act that an agent witnessed and told another agent about.
When confronted, Campbell said the only money he had was his personal money. After resisting a search, Campbell was handcuffed. Before ATF agent Ed Dabkowski could search Campbell, the cash fell out of Campbell’s pockets. It was estimated that he took more than $46,000.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys office for the Eastern District of Michigan because the the Northern District of Ohio is recused from the case.
Detriot U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said, “Just as we hold public officials accountable for wrongdoing, we hold federal agents accountable as well.”
