Trial Begins For Former Philadelphia Cop In Steal-and-Sell Drug Case
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A third former Philadelphia police officer implicated in a plot to steal heroin from a drug dealer has gone on trial with an alleged co-conspirator.
Testimony begins on Tuesday morning in the case of former officer Mark Williams, charged with conspiracy to distribute drugs and commit robbery (see previous story), and Zachary Young, a civilian tied to the drugs plot.
Basically, the government says Williams and two other former officers who have pleaded guilty arranged with Young and others last spring to grab and sell nearly 300 grams of heroin from a drug dealer in a bogus traffic stop. But one of the plotters was an undercover agent.
There will be testimony and tapes from phone taps and a hidden recorder.
Williams' attorney admits his client is guilty of one -- but only one -- of the charges against him.
Young's attorney points to her client, in a wheelchair due to a diabetes-related amputation, and says, "He's not a big-time guy. He's a sick old man."
Reported by John Ostapkovich, KYW Newsradio 1060.
