Former Deputy Also Charged with Drug Conspiracy and Lying to FBI
UPDATE 3:44PM: Joint Statement from Wayne County and Sheriff Larry M. Pierce Regarding United States Department of Justice Announcement
Earlier today, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina issued a press release indicating that a current and former Wayne County deputy had been charged with numerous federal charges. Sheriff Larry Pierce was not made aware of the specific charges until the U.S. Attorney’s press release.
Wayne County and the Sheriff’s Office were notified in the Fall of 2021 of an ongoing federal investigation. The County, Sheriff’s Office, and all employees fully cooperated with the investigation and provided all information that was requested from authorities. After learning of the investigation, the Wayne County Finance Department and the Sheriff’s Office implemented immediate corrective action.
Major Chris Worth has been placed on administrative leave without pay, pending the outcome of the charges.
Wayne County and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office will continue to cooperate with any requests from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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RALEIGH – A federal grand jury returned an Indictment on August 17, 2023, against one current and one former Wayne County sheriff’s deputy, prosecutors announced today (Wednesday).
According to the Indictment, Michael Kenneth Cox, age 48, and Christopher C. Worth, age 52, were each indicted on 12 separate fraud charges stemming from an alleged scheme undertaken by Worth and Cox to steer contracts for upfits of Wayne County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) vehicles to a business owned by Cox and employing Worth, regardless of whether Cox’s company provided such work at the lowest price, as required by the Wayne County procurement requirements.
Cox was employed by the WCSO from 1996 until he retired as the head of the Drug Unit in 2018. Worth joined the WCSO in 1993 and currently serves as a Major overseeing all of WCSO criminal enforcement sections and WCSO’s Support Services.
In addition to the fraud charges, Cox was indicted for conspiring with multiple drug traffickers to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and oxycodone, and two counts of making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“Law enforcement officers take an oath to protect and serve our communities by upholding the rule of law,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Our office will continue to hold accountable those who violate the public trust and abuse their position for personal gain.”
Yikes
I am one to stand up for our LEOs as I am sure you all are aware but this? This is horrible and I hope they hang these deputies out to dry. They should be charged and serve double the time than anyone else as these officers were supposed to be pillars of the community they served.
Have you ever been one?
I won’t say if I am or if I am not but that is not the issue, I know what is right and wrong and that is the issue. I also like what Cinder Lou Who wrote.
you only seem to hear about the wrong doers….most LEO’s are honest, hardworking folks that love their job and their communities. they get very little respect and are harassed…I stand with our LEO’s and they surely need to punish these two with the maximum punishment the law will allow….
Where there’s smoke….