DEA AGENT MAKES PLEA DEAL

DEA Agent Makes Plea Deal Tax Charge Means Jail For Defendant Based In
Atlanta

A former Drug Enforcement Administration special agent on Wednesday
agreed to spend at least 15 months in prison for failing to report
more than $200,000 in cash he obtained while working as an Atlanta
agent in 2004.

Gregory Campion, 46, of Orlando was a longtime DEA agent, serving from
2003 to 2005 as backup supervisor at an Atlanta task force office
where he had access to millions of dollars in cash seized from drug
traffickers. In 2006, Campion was indicted for embezzling seized drug
money, but prosecutors agreed to drop those charges in exchange for
the guilty plea to the tax charge.

Chief U.S. District Judge Jack Camp appeared hesitant to accept the
plea deal. Camp pointedly asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Anand
why the embezzlement counts were being dismissed. The judge also asked
Campion's lawyers if they had anything to say "about the plea
agreement except that it's a good deal?"

Anand told Camp that the federal sentencing guidelines for the tax
count do not call for a substantially lower sentence than for an
embezzlement count. But Camp quickly noted there were 17 embezzlement
counts being dismissed.

Anand also said that the quality of the evidence for the embezzlement
case was not as good as it was for the tax charge. Ed Garland, one of
Campion's lawyers, agreed with that assessment.

In the end, Camp accepted Campion's guilty plea, which he entered
before a number of federal agents seated in the courtroom gallery.

The maximum sentence for the tax charge is three years in prison, Camp
reminded Campion, adding he was not bound by the plea agreement's
recommendation for a 15-month prison term.

Campion, who is to be sentenced May 15, obtained the extra money in
2004 "from the access he had to cash that had been seized by drug
traffickers," Jeannine Hammett, acting special agent in charge of IRS
criminal investigations, said after the plea hearing. "If one of our
own commits a crime, they will be prosecuted," she added.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said, "This defendant
blatantly violated the oath he took to uphold the law and thereby
marred the reputation for honesty and integrity that federal law
enforcement officers deserve. His guilty plea and his agreement to
accept a sentence of at least 15 years in prison is a fitting response
to his acts of corruption."