A Florida police officer allegedly got involved in a drug-planting scheme in exchange for sexual favors and a trip to Paris. Deputy with Lee County Sheriff's Office, 25-year-old deputy Niko Irizarry was arrested and fired, his boss Carmine Marceno noted Friday.
Quoting Marceno, NYDailyNews, reported that Charles Custodio, 37, contacted Irizarry and promised him unspecified sexual favors and a vacation to Paris in exchange for his help in a fentanyl-planting scheme. Investigators noted that Custodio was seeking revenge against an unidentified victim.
Custodio had appointed a third man, Scott Snider, 29, to plant the synthetic opioid in his enemy's car. He then informed Irizarry where he could find the victim's car with drugs planted on it. According to the plan, Irizarry then performed a traffic stop and arrested the victim on drug charges on December 16 near Fort Myers, investigators noted.
'Nobody is above the law'
While Custodio and Snider were charged with trafficking fentanyl, possession of a controlled substance, and conspiracy, Irizarry was slapped with charges of falsifying an official document.
"Nobody is above the law, and that includes our deputies," Irizarry's boss, Marceno said on Friday. He did not specify if Irizarry received the promised compensation in exchange for the favor. It is not clear at the moment if the three men hired attorneys who could speak on their behalf.
Similar incidents
In a similar incident, a Bridgeport Police Department deputy was caught stealing money during a major drug bust in November last year. Christopher Martin, 54, was arrested and charged with second-degree larceny and tampering with evidence. Martin was arrested after an inspector from the State's Attorney's Office discovered that $500 previously documented in a suspect's vehicle had been removed.
An Osceola County deputy was arrested after being accused of helping his cousin evade a domestic violence arrest in November last year. Kevin Encarnacion, was fired by the agency and slapped with third-degree felony charges of official misconduct and being an accessory to a domestic violence incident.
