'WHY I DID IT, I DON'T KNOW.'

Recording transcripts filed by federal authorities show that on Oct.
20, 2005, Sgt. James A. Vaught explained to Sheriff H.F. "Frank"
Cassell why he resigned from the department in March after the Drug
Enforcement Administration had traced an illegal drug shipment to a
rental property that Vaught owned.

VAUGHT: " . . . And ever since then I been sittin' here thinkin' that
I had an 11-year job there and you gave me everything I ever wanted,
and why I did it, I don't know. I guess there's a lot of things I done
I don't know why I did, but I owed it to you -- there's a few things I
want to tell you tonight to get you to understand . . ."

CASSELL: "Yeah, ah, yeah, I understand that."

VAUGHT: "I should been smarter, but ah, money . . . got the best of
me. . . . I guess that's always been my number one thing is money and
women, and that's two things that flat destroy . . ."

CASSELL: "Oh, I can understand the women, but I don't understand the
money . . ."

Vaught asks whether Cassell is surprised to hear that four years
earlier, Vaught had kept drugs from an illegal search and sold them.
Cassell replies: "That's not particularly shocking." Vaught then asks
whether Cassell intends to act on this report.

CASSELL: "No, I ain't plannin' . . ."

VAUGHT: " . . . okay."

CASSELL: " . . . this conversation didn't even occur."

VAUGHT: "Okay."

CASSELL: "Hey, I got . . . "

VAUGHT: "I don't want, I don't wanna worry." [laughs]

CASSELL: "I got two years to go, James. I, I'm just wonderin' if I
need to be worried . . ."

VAUGHT: "No, no."

On Feb. 23, Vaught, saying he is struggling to support his family,
asks Cassell to help conceal the old drug money. Cassell agrees to
cosign a loan to launder the cash through a bank. Vaught offers him
cash as collateral.

CASSELL: "No, I don't want to hold on to it, you just pay the bank
back . . ."

VAUGHT: "Hmmm, I'll do that but I just don't . . ."

CASSELL: " . . . The only way I can lose is if you decide the hell
with it, I'm not gonna pay it."

VAUGHT: "Right, but . . . I would feel better if you would . . .
"

CASSELL: "I would feel better if I don't touch this."

VAUGHT: " 'Cause it's drug money . . ."

CASSELL: "Well, I'd just . . ."

VAUGHT: [laughter]

CASSELL: " . . . feel better if, if you came to me and said, 'Sheriff,
I'm in . . ."

VAUGHT: "Uh-huh."

CASSELL: " . . . a hard way. I'm about to lose everything I got, I
need some help. . .' "

VAUGHT: "Basically, we . . ."

CASSELL: " . . . all right, James, I'll go sign a note for ya' . . .
"

VAUGHT: "Right."

CASSELL: " . . . you take it and get yourself straightened out . . .
"

VAUGHT: " . . . so basically we would just kind of forget that I ever
told you it was drug money."

CASSELL: "We'd forget all about this . . ."