BIRMINGHAM—Federal prosecutors have charged the former
commander of the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force with stealing at
least $125,000 from suspected drug proceeds seized by the multi-agency
task force, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special
Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein, Jr.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office late Thursday filed a one-count
information in U.S. District Court charging Jeffrey Lynn Snyder, 55, of
Carrollton, with the theft from a program that received more than
$10,000 in federal benefits within a one-year period. The U.S.
Attorney’s Office also filed a plea agreement with Snyder in which he
agrees to enter a guilty plea to the charge. According to the plea
agreement, Snyder embezzled the money between June 2010 and June 2012,
when he left the task force.
“Most law enforcement officers serve their communities bravely and
honorably each and every day,” Vance said. “Unfortunately, this
defendant violated his oath, the law, and the public trust he had been
granted. That cannot be tolerated. The public must be able to trust its
law enforcement officers.”
“Mr. Snyder tarnished the badge he wore and violated the trust of the
people of West Alabama,” Schwein said. “This case demonstrates our
commitment to enforce the law and hold individuals accountable,
regardless of rank, position, or status. Fortunately, this is an
isolated incident, and we should recognize the efforts of law
enforcement officers throughout the region who continue to risk their
lives on a daily basis so that the public can be safe,” he said.
The West Alabama Narcotics Task Force is staffed with officers from
the Tuscaloosa Police Department, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office,
Northport Police Department, and University of Alabama Police
Department. It is tasked to investigate all drug crimes in Tuscaloosa
County.
Snyder was a 29-year member of the Tuscaloosa Police Department,
retiring as a captain in December 2012. He was detailed to the narcotics
task force in 1989 and became its commander in June 2002, according to
his plea agreement.
Task force members periodically seized money suspected to be proceeds
of illegal drug transactions and turned the money in to Snyder, who was
responsible for depositing the money into bank accounts while
condemnation proceedings were pursued through court, according to the
plea agreement. Snyder was entrusted to receive the seized money, log it
in task force ledger books, and deposit it in task force bank accounts.
Snyder began embezzling from the seized funds no later than June
2010. He executed his scheme “by pocketing some or all of the funds
seized during various arrests and then failing to correctly account for
those funds,” the plea agreement states.
The agreement between the government and Snyder is a “binding plea
agreement” in which both sides agree to an 18-month prison sentence, but
the court must still approve the agreement.
The FBI investigated the case, with assistance from the West Alabama
Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Cornelius is
prosecuting the case.
