St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Officer Pleads Guilty to Federal Corruption Charges

ST. LOUIS, MO—Bobby Garrett pled guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, making false statements and theft of government funds, Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap announced today.

Bobby Lee Garrett, Leo Liston, and Vincent Carr were police detectives employed by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, assigned to the Crime Suppression Unit. Officers assigned to the Crime Suppression Unit typically handled investigations involving auto theft, burglary, illegal narcotics sales, and firearms offenses, and usually carried out their duties while working in plain clothes and unmarked cars.

According to statements made in court by Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith at the time of the guilty plea, Garrett aided and abetted other officers acting with him in stealing money from a purported drug courier they stopped on September 18, 2007, and failed to properly report the stop and seizure in order to conceal their actions. Further, in a June 6, 2008 drug raid, Garrett stole money, lied on police reports about the drug raid, and took other actions to conceal the theft, including falsely arresting and charging an individual relative to the drug raid. Garrett later lied to a representative of the United States Attorney’s Office and FBI agents investigating the incident in order to conceal his criminal conduct. In an unrelated June 11, 2008 drug raid, Garrett and other officers working with him seized approximately $12,000 in cash, but only reported approximately $4,000 of the seized cash to the police department. The remaining approximately $8,000 was misapplied by Garrett and the other officers, and a false police report was prepared in order to conceal their criminal conduct.

Garrett, 49, St. Louis County, plead guilty to one felony count of embezzlement of government property, one felony count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one felony count of wire fraud, two felony counts of making false statements, and one felony count of misapplication of government funds. He appeared before United States District Judge E. Richard Webber.

“It is a sad day when a police officer violates his solemn oath to serve and protect, and instead uses his badge and authority to commit criminal acts. The people of St. Louis deserve better. This Office will continue to vigorously prosecute any public official who, through his or her criminal conduct, cheats the public out of their right to that individual’s honest services,” said Michael W. Reap, Acting United States Attorney. “Fortunately, this is an isolated incident, and we should recognize the efforts of law enforcement officers throughout the region who continue to risk their lives on a daily basis so that the public can be safe.”

“Drug dealers are criminals, but that is absolutely no excuse for a police officer to steal from them,” said John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in St. Louis. “We will not tolerate this type of public corruption. Even a rare instance like this can taint the credibility of all the other men and women who work so hard to faithfully uphold the law.”

Co-defendant Vincent Carr, 47, St. Louis, pled guilty in February to one felony count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one felony count of wire fraud, two felony counts of making false statements, and one felony count of obstruction of justice, and is scheduled for sentencing September 8, 2009.

Co-defendant Leo Liston, 35, St. Louis, pled guilty in May to one felony count of misapplication of government funds and is scheduled for sentencing September 8, 2009.

The maximum penalties that the defendants are facing:

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, maximum of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000; Making false statements, five years and/or fine up to $250,000; theft/embezzlement of government property, ten years prison and/or fines up to $250,000; obstruction of justice, 20 years and/or fines up to $250,000; and misapplication of government funds, ten years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. Garrett will be sentenced on November 10, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. in front of United States District Judge E. Richard Webber.

Reap commended the work on the case by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith, who is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.