A former upstate New York cop, who also served as a D.A.R.E. officer, pleaded guilty to 40 narcotics-related charges for peddling drugs on the job last May.
Michael Tapscott resigned from the Geneva Police Department last year after he was accused of selling Adderall, a Schedule 2 controlled substance, to a buyer at a used car dealership while on duty and in his squad car.
Tapscott, a Geneva cop for 13 years, also served as a Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., officer in the community, a program founded in 1983 geared toward keeping kids away from drugs and gangs.
Tapscott’s plea at an Ontario County Court came last month after new charges came to light, including three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, and two counts of official misconduct.
His plea deal will see him serve just 16 weekends in jail and five years probation, special prosecutor Christine Callanan told Rochester First.
Three other officers allegedly involved in Tapscott’s scheme were also indicted, accused of being solicited by the rogue officer to buy and sell narcotics, both while on- and off-duty, including Geneva Police Sgt. David Felice, former Geneva Police Officer Nathan Jacon, and William McGowan, according to Syracuse.com.
Jacon resigned in August and Felice was placed on administrative leave as the investigation began, Geneva Police Chief Ron Eveland told WHAM. McGowan is charged with tampering with physical evidence.
None of the other officers have been sentenced.
