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| Department of Corrections worker was ‘security,’ adviser to heroin kingpin |
| By seattlepi.com - LEVI PULKKINEN |
| Published: 12/29/2011 |
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Seattle WA -- A Department of Corrections worker provided “security” and intelligence to a heroin dealer with ties to the Aryan Nation, federal prosecutors claim. Filing charges earlier this week, prosecutors claim the Department of Corrections worker, who has since resigned, passed along “sensitive law enforcement information” to Todd Hamilton – a convicted felon now accused of running a methamphetamine and heroin ring in Bellingham. According to charging documents unsealed earlier this week, several suspects were affiliated with an Aryan Nation-affiliated gang known as “The Hated” operating within state prisons. Hamilton, 34, is described both as a leader of The Hated and of “a busy drug- trafficking ring.” “This drug-trafficking organization damaged many lives with the heroin and methamphetamine they spread in our communities,” U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan said in a statement. “This conspiracy thrived on threats and violence, and used a corrupted former corrections officer to try to avoid arrest.” In court documents, a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent contended that others within the Department of Corrections continued to help former employee Christian Knight after he resigned. Hamilton, Knight and 10 others have been charged with drug offenses; no other Department of Corrections employees have been charged. Calls to a Department of Corrections spokesman were not returned Wednesday or Thursday. Federal prosecutors claim Hamilton and his girlfriend, 23-year-old Denali Wood, sold and distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of heroin and meth around Whatcom and Skagit counties. The multi-agency investigation was launched in March, a month before Bellingham police seized Hamilton’s BMW and $10,460 in the car. Police also seized small quantities of methamphetamine and heroin. Investigators conducted a series of undercover drug deals with Hamilton while also tapping his phones and conducting other surveillance. According to court papers, Hamilton was buying large quantities of heroin and meth from two King County men. Investigators contend the drugs were then distributed through Hamilton’s network of 10 to 20 others dealing in northwest Washington. Writing the court, the DEA agent said Hamilton and Wood led the operation. At times, the allegations go, they were buying tens of thousands of dollars worth of heroin and meth at a time. In one two-week stretch, Hamilton is alleged to have bought 3 ½ pounds of heroin and 6 ½ pounds of methamphetamine. Investigators claim he paid his distributor more than $100,000 for that shipment. Investigators linked Hamilton to a Department of Corrections employee – Knight – who is alleged to have helped Hamilton in a variety of ways, including by passing along “sensitive law enforcement information.” Knight, the DEA special agent told the court, also helped deliver heroin. Read More. |
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