Drug unit deputy worked with ‘one of the largest drug dealers’ in NC county, feds say

A current and former North Carolina deputy were indicted on charges of fraud after federal officials say they used their connections to steer contracts to their business.

And one of those men, who had been assigned to the sheriff’s office’s drug unit, is also accused of working alongside drug traffickers.

Michael Cox and Christopher Worth are former and current deputies at the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina, respectively. They were each indicted on 12 counts of fraud related to what officials are calling a bid-rigging process, according to a news release issued by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina on Aug. 30.

Cox, who was second-in-command under Worth during his time at the drug unit, was also charged with conspiring with drug traffickers to distribute cocaine and oxycodone, as well as two counts of making false statements to the FBI, officials said in a news release.

A spokesperson for Wayne County said the sheriff didn’t know about the specific charges until the U.S. Attorney’s Office put out the news release. The indictment is dated Aug. 17.

“Wayne County and the Sheriff’s Office were notified in the Fall of 2021 of an ongoing federal investigation,” Wayne County and Sheriff Larry Pierce said in a joint statement provided to McClatchy News.

“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.”

Worth has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, officials said in the statement.

A spokesperson for the county told McClatchy News they were not aware of either defendant’s legal representation.

Former deputy’s drug indictment: ‘Ur my bro’

During Cox’s time working under Worth in the drug unit, officials say the unit mishandled drug and firearm evidence by not properly recording or storing it.

“The Drug Unit’s off-the-books method of handling evidence provided it with the ability to avoid creating any record of a drug suspect’s arrest for drug dealing,” according to the indictment. “In addition, it allowed members of the Drug Unit the ability to seize drugs and guns from citizens without any accountability for such evidence.”

Cox also became involved with “multiple drug traffickers” in the area, officials said in the news release.

Eventually, police in Goldsboro, a city in Wayne County, considered one of Cox’s contacts “to be one of the largest drug dealers in Goldsboro and planned to target him for investigation,” according to the indictment. “Cox, much to the frustration of GPD, was able to block such investigation. As a result, GPD began to view Drug Trafficking Two as ‘untouchable’ because of his relationship with Cox.”

Cox once invited the same accused trafficker to a cookout he was hosting, according to the indictment, and the two of them and a defense lawyer discussed search warrants that had led to the accused trafficker’s recent arrest. Cox was still a deputy with Wayne County at the time.

About six months after cookout, Cox had a text exchange with the accused trafficker, telling him, “U know I have your back through anything. There ain’t many people you can trust in life. But ur my bro,” according to investigators.

Side business

Cox owned a side business that outfitted law enforcement vehicles with items such as sirens, lights, radios and other equipment. The business, called Eastern Emergency Equipment, hired Worth as a contract employee from 2006 until 2021, investigators say.

“Worth was promoted to Captain in charge of Support Services in 2016 and became responsible for coordinating and vetting bids from vendors on various WCSO contracts,” the indictment says.

The grand jury found Worth steered contracts to Cox’s business.

“Due to Worth’s position, he and Cox were able to fraudulently manipulate Wayne County’s bid process to financially benefit Cox and Worth,” according to the indictment.

The two split larger invoices into multiple, smaller invoices to avoid exceeding an amount that required additional oversight from the county, the indictment says.

They also created fictitious quotes from other vendors to make it seem that Cox offered the best prices, when it was “predetermined that EEE would get the contract,” the grand jury charges.

Inmate records show Cox is being held at Wake County Detention Center in Raleigh. Inmate records for Worth are not available.

Wayne County is about 60 miles southeast of Raleigh.

This story was originally published August 31, 2023 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Drug unit deputy worked with ‘one of the largest drug dealers’ in NC county, feds say."