THOMAS PLEADS GUILTY

Greenville - The former sheriff of Carteret County admitted Monday in
federal court to pocketing thousands of dollars from the sheriff's
department over a 10-year period.

Ralph L. Thomas Jr., 60, who served as sheriff for 20 years, pleaded
guilty to one charge of conspiring to commit an offense against the
United States.

One of his former drug detectives, Chris Cozart, 35, also pleaded
guilty Monday to imprision of a felony, as he knew about the illegal
activity of his superiors and failed to report it to
authorities.

Mr. Thomas, dressed in a navy blue suit and accompanied by two
attorneys and his wife, said little at his arraignment, held in the
U.S. Courthouse in Greenville. The benches of the sparsely attended
proceeding contained mostly other attorneys or reporters.

The former sheriff, who at times needed the judge to repeat a sentence
due to a hearing impairment, waived his rights to be indicted by a
grand jury and gave his plea to Judge David Daniel. "Guilty, your
honor," he said.

Mr. Thomas' arraignment followed that of Mr. Cozart. The two shook
hands at the beginning of the proceeding.

Charges are still pending against another three former sheriff's
department deputies: Frank Galiza, the prior chief deputy; Thomas
"Mark" Farlow and Boyce Floyd Jr.

While charges were filed against both Mr. Thomas and Mr. Cozart in
March, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a superceding bill of
information Thursday.

According to that information, Mr. Thomas conspired to embezzle and
intentionally misapply drug funds that were intended specifically for
covert drug operations, taking more than $5,000 each year for about a
decade.

The activity began in 1997, when Mr. Floyd, then a drug detective,
allegedly brought Mr. Thomas an envelope filled with money from the
county's drug fund. This occurred on several occasions and each time
Mr. Floyd did so, Mr. Thomas took a portion of the funds presented to
him.

In 2001, when Mr. Floyd was activated with the U.S. Coast Guard, Mr.
Galizia took over drug investigations for the department and allegedly
continued the same practice of bringing cash from the drug fund to the
sheriff.

Court papers identify two occasions in particular. On Oct. 10, 2006,
Mr. Floyd allegedly gave $1,000 in funds to the sheriff, who then kept
it. That same day Mr. Galizia took $5,000 in funds to the sheriff. Mr.
Thomas admitted to keeping the entire amount.

When asked by Judge Daniel whether he did in fact commit this crime,
Mr. Thomas replied, "Yes, sir."

Mr. Cozart, wearing a brown tweed jacket and sporting a goatee,
pleaded guilty to knowing the sheriff and others were embezzling
county funds and concealing that knowledge.

The bill of information lists one occasion on Aug. 29, 2005, when Mr.
Cozart, who served with the department for two years, gave Mr. Galizia
$2,000 from the drug fund, knowing that a substantial portion of it
would be embezzled as had happened numerous times in the past.

The maximum penalty Mr. Thomas faces is up to five years' imprisonment
followed by up to one year supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

The maximum penalty Mr. Cozart faces is up to three years'
imprisonment followed by up to one year supervised release and a fine
of up to $250,000.

"I wish you luck with your sentencing," Judge Daniel said to
each.

Both defendants made plea agreements, which are not available at this
time. However, Robert McAfee, the attorney for Mr. Cozart, said his
client has agreed to be called upon as a witness if needed in other
investigations.

Both defendants were released on the condition they sign a $100,000
unsecured bond, report to their probation officer as directed,
surrender their passports and remove any firearms from their property.
Their travel is also restricted to North Carolina unless given prior
approval.

The guilty pleas conclude an almost four-year investigation into the
two conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal
Investigation division and the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"Abuse of power is an insidious disease that eats away at the public
trust's trust in law enforcement. These men took oaths to enforce laws
they didn't respect, and now they must atone for their actions," said
Owen Harris, special agent in charge of the FBI in North Carolina, in
a press release.

Added Attorney General Roy Cooper, "We count on law enforcement
officers to uphold the law and protect the public, not break the law
to line their pockets at public expense."

Mr. Galizia, Mr. Floyd and Mr. Farlow are scheduled to be arraigned
June 1. Both Mr. Floyd and Mr. Galizia ran unsuccessfully for the
sheriff's seat in 2006.

Sheriff Asa Buck, who won that election, has said that he discovered
irregularities with the drug fund shortly after taking office and
promptly reported the information to the District Attorney's Office.