Coke-dealing Ex-probation Officer Gets 5 Years; No Blame For Judge's Death
From the Belleville News-Democrat
Judge Joe Christ begged James Fogarty to get him cocaine on a Friday night before a weekend trip, Fogarty's lawyers said.
Fogarty wasn't the usual "go-to guy" for cocaine purchases by judges Christ and Michael Cook, but he was able to buy an eighth of an ounce of cocaine for $270.
Fogarty made a $10 profit.
Christ died from cocaine toxicity within a day or two of that sale. And if federal prosecutors had been able to prove that Fogarty's cocaine killed Christ, Fogarty would have received a prison sentence greater than the five years he received on Thursday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Porter said it wasn't because they didn't try. Investigators spent "hours and hours" looking at Christ's death, but found no credible evidence that the cocaine that killed Christ came from Fogarty.
Without the link between Fogarty and the lethal cocaine, U.S. District Judge Michael Reagan said he would accept the plea deal that would send Fogarty, 46, to prison for five years on cocaine distribution and weapons charges.
Fogarty, a former St. Clair County probation officer, is the first former county employee to be sentenced in the courthouse drug scandal. Cook, a former St. Clair County Circuit judge, pleaded guilty to heroin possession and weapons charges but his plea agreement was rejected Wednesday after the judge found it was too lenient. Christ was appointed as an associated judge just 10 days before he was found dead at Cook's hunting cabin in Pike County.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Belleville News-Democrat
Judge Joe Christ begged James Fogarty to get him cocaine on a Friday night before a weekend trip, Fogarty's lawyers said.
Fogarty wasn't the usual "go-to guy" for cocaine purchases by judges Christ and Michael Cook, but he was able to buy an eighth of an ounce of cocaine for $270.
Fogarty made a $10 profit.
Christ died from cocaine toxicity within a day or two of that sale. And if federal prosecutors had been able to prove that Fogarty's cocaine killed Christ, Fogarty would have received a prison sentence greater than the five years he received on Thursday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Porter said it wasn't because they didn't try. Investigators spent "hours and hours" looking at Christ's death, but found no credible evidence that the cocaine that killed Christ came from Fogarty.
Without the link between Fogarty and the lethal cocaine, U.S. District Judge Michael Reagan said he would accept the plea deal that would send Fogarty, 46, to prison for five years on cocaine distribution and weapons charges.
Fogarty, a former St. Clair County probation officer, is the first former county employee to be sentenced in the courthouse drug scandal. Cook, a former St. Clair County Circuit judge, pleaded guilty to heroin possession and weapons charges but his plea agreement was rejected Wednesday after the judge found it was too lenient. Christ was appointed as an associated judge just 10 days before he was found dead at Cook's hunting cabin in Pike County.
Read more in our daily News Update...