Looks like Officer Riggs, a Maryland State Trooper, just couldn’t resist the siren call of a hefty debt and a juicy secret. But hey, who needs to worry about pesky things like ethics when you’ve got Facebook Messenger to do all the talking for you?
The arrest affidavit claims Riggs may have sold information because he was in debt.
Investigators ran a credit check on Riggs and found he had five maxed-out credit cards worth more than $34,000; the minimum payment was $1,385, according to investigators. Additionally, his other debt not including his mortgage exceeded $67,000 in vehicle and student loans.
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/police/maryland-state-trooper-information-leak/65-e4aabcc6-7b96-4f7d-9e08-83dd7dfe5675
Officer Riggs provided law enforcement only information to a drug suspect for approximately $1,800 cash. The officer’s payment was left behind a dumpster at a Red Roof Inn in Hagerstown, MD:
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.527890/gov.uscourts.mdd.527890.7.0_1.pdf
Facebook Messenger was the communication method of choice in this case. Because when you’re trying to be sneaky, nothing screams ‘under the radar’ quite like using a social media platform.
According to the affidavit, at least some of the communication between Riggs and the drug distributor happened via Facebook Messenger, the information of which was obtained after investigators got a search warrant.
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/police/maryland-state-trooper-information-leak/65-e4aabcc6-7b96-4f7d-9e08-83dd7dfe5675
Further Reading:
- https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67169334/united-states-v-riggs/
- https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66711033/united-states-v-riggs/
- https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/cops_and_crime/updated-state-trooper-accused-of-leaking-information-for-money/article_1a628b5e-7883-5aa2-a9f7-093092ef72e3.html (Photo)
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