TAYLOR MADE

"More arrests are expected."

Those four simple words, which appeared in a Fayetteville Observer
article last week on a plea agreement by former sheriff's Deputy
Roger Taylor concerning Operation Tarnished Badge, have huge implications.

But because they were unattributed, we don't know who is saying more
arrests are expected. We have found state and federal investigators
incredibly tight-lipped when we have asked questions about Operation
Tarnished Badge, so we don't know if those words are well-sourced, or
just something a reporter or editor tossed into the middle of a story
without carefully considering their weight.

But everything else from that day's script suggests that, yes, more
arrests are coming, and that investigators are narrowing their focus
on the biggest fish yet.

Taylor, C.T. Strickland and Steve Lovin were the first former
deputies charged during this investigation and they faced charges of
some of the most outrageous federal crimes, including arson, stealing
drug forfeiture money and distributing drugs. Assistant U.S. Attorney
Wes Camden said in federal court on Thursday that Taylor "conspired
with other current and former sheriff's deputies to essentially run
the Robeson County Sheriff's Office through a pattern of racketeering acts."

Yet Taylor was allowed to plead guilty to a single count of
conspiracy while admitting to pirating satellite television signals
and stealing drug forfeiture money.

That suggests that prosecutors either aren't confident that they can
prove all the charges, or that Taylor has critical information that
will keep the investigation moving forward. Taylor has promised to
cooperate, and with a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine
and three years of supervised release dangling over his head, as well
as the possibility he could still be tried on other charges, he has
plenty of incentive to do so.

Note also that Camden, when speaking in court, said Taylor conspired
with "current" deputies. If Camden wasn't speaking carelessly - and
prosecutors not named Nifong tend to watch their words in
high-profile cases such as this one - that suggests that more arrests
at the Sheriff's Office are forthcoming. If that happens, it further
delays Sheriff Kenneth Sealey's efforts - see today's Page 1A story -
to separate that office from Tarnished Badge.

Hopefully Taylor's plea indicates that momentum is building to bring
this 45-month-old investigation to an end. But it appears before that
before that will happen, more fish - small and perhaps large - will be fried.