Drug Money Very, Very Tempting

The Detroit drug squad is under investigation, a Pennsylvania police chief is accused of stealing money from drug busts, and a Wisconsin prison has a problem with pill-stealing guards. Let's get to it:

In Detroit, the Detroit Police Department has invited the FBI to join its investigation of the department's Narcotics Unit. The move comes as the department digs into the unit's "conspiracy crews," teams of narcotics officers who work on long-term investigations of big-time drug dealers. Some members of one of the crews are suspected of stealing as much as a half million dollars. The accused officers have been reassigned to other duties pending the results of the investigation. A minimum of four officers are alleged to be involved, and perhaps more.

In Lykens, Pennsylvania, the police chief was arrested Monday for stealing money seized in drug busts. Chief W.R. Wade, who was suspended with pay two months ago, is charged with two counts of theft for stealing the money, as well as another count of unsworn falsification, for lying about a previous arrest on his job application. He is now suspended without pay. Wade went down after he announced the arrests of 21 people on drug charges, but in the end only arrested seven and failed to provide any evidence. Investigators found $3,800 in missing seized cash from one case and $200 from another in his home.

In Portage, Wisconsin, a prison guard was arrested January 7 for stealing narcotic drugs intended for sick prisoners. David Yatalese, 53, a guard at the Columbia Correctional Institution, is charged with theft, possession of a controlled substance and possession at or near a prison, a felony. According to prison officials, an internal CCI investigation tracked missing oxycodone, methadone and hydrocodone back to Yatalese after another prison worker noticed prisoners' prescriptions coming up in need of renewal too quickly. Yatalese is the third guard caught stealing prisoners' drugs in the previous 20 months. One is awaiting trial, and the other got two years probation and drug treatment. Prison officials said they have a "serious problem" and are working on solutions.