Homeland Security agent pleads not guilty to drug distribution conspiracy charge
SALT LAKE CITY — A Department of Homeland Security agent who the FBI says conspired with another agent to sell an illegal drug known as “bath salts” and pleaded not guilty in federal court Friday to drug distribution conspiracy.
A grand jury in Salt Lake City returned the criminal indictment against Special Agent David Cole of the Homeland Security Investigations unit earlier this week. The indictment alleges that Cole abused his position as a federal law enforcement agent to obtain and sell drugs for profit. If convicted, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
Cole took drugs seized as evidence, told colleagues he was using them for legitimate research, and instead sold them to a confidential informant who resold the drugs for a profit on the streets of Utah, the indictment said.
The informant, who has a lengthy criminal history, was recruited by federal agents to work for them after his release from prison. But in addition to conducting controlled purchases from suspected drug dealers as directed by investigators, the informant said he was coerced by Cole and another officer to also engage in illegal sales.
The investigation began after the informant’s attorney contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah in October to report that agents had required him to perform potentially illegal acts from last spring through early December. Details of the drug sales offered by the informant were corroborated by surveillance and other sources, the FBI said.
Cole and the second agent – identified in court documents only as “Person A” – profited up to $300,000 from the illegal scheme, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case.
FBI spokesperson Sandra Barker said Friday that “Person A” had not been arrested or charged, but that the investigation was ongoing.
Cole, 50, of South Jordan, Utah, entered the courtroom Friday, handcuffed and bent over, wearing a white and gray striped jumpsuit. U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Pead accepted Cole’s not guilty plea and scheduled a trial for the week of February 24.
Federal officials say the charges against Cole send a message that officers who break the law and undermine the public’s trust in law enforcement will be prosecuted.
“A drug dealer with a badge is still a drug dealer – and one who has violated the oath to uphold the law and protect the public,” said Nicole Argentieri, chief of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. “No one is above the law.”
Special Agent Shohini Sinha, head of the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office, said Cole’s alleged actions helped inflame an already devastating situation. drug crisis.
Ingestion of synthetic bath salts, also known as Alpha-PVP or cathinone, can lead to bizarre behavior such as paranoia and extreme strength, according to authorities who say it is similar to methamphetamine, cocaine or ecstasy. They have nothing to do with actual bath products.
Cole’s attorney, Alexander Ramos, has declined to directly address the criminal charges but said his client has a strong reputation within the federal law enforcement community. Ramos did not immediately respond to emails Friday seeking comment on the not guilty plea.
The Homeland Security Investigations Division where Cole worked conducts federal criminal investigations into the illegal movement of people, goods, money, weapons, drugs and sensitive technology into, out of and through the US. Cole and the second officer had their credentials suspended but not fired, according to court documents.