FORMER ROBESON DEPUTY PLEADS GUILTY

RALEIGH -- Former Robeson County deputy Roger Taylor -- charged in a
12-count federal indictment as part of Operation Tarnished Badge --
pleaded guilty Thursday to a single count of racketeering.

Taylor read a brief statement after his hearing in U.S. District
Court, acknowledging that he stole satellite TV signals and improperly
used federal drug forfeiture money while working as a deputy.

The federal government returns 80 percent of money seized in federal
drug cases to the agencies responsible for confiscating it. The
government dictates how that money can be spent.

Taylor, who is 37, said he spent the money on sheriff's equipment and
never benefited personally. He declined to specify how he spent the
money. Prosecutors say Taylor conspired with other deputies to
misappropriate several thousand dollars through the Federal Equitable
Sharing Program -- a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act, known as RICO. The conspiracy happened from 1996 to
2004.

Prosecutors say Taylor also used a modified satellite TV card that
allowed him to steal signals from DirecTV.

Taylor pleaded guilty to those offenses in a criminal bill of
information in exchange for his testimony against others in the
four-year investigation by state and federal authorities.

He faces a maximum of 20years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three
years of supervised release.

The investigation has led to the convictions of 15 former Robeson
County deputies on charges that include conspiracy to distribute
cocaine, conspiracy to violate the RICO act, conspiracy to commit
money laundering, conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to defraud the
government. Steven Lovin is the only deputy charged who has not
pleaded guilty, but more arrests are expected. A trial for Lovin -- who
was indicted in June with Taylor and former Deputy C.T. Strickland --
is set for July. Strickland, the former supervisor of the sheriff's
drug enforcement unit, pleaded guilty in February to the theft of drug
seizure money. Taylor, who had been named in four counts of the
indictment, could have faced life in prison.

Prosecutors originally accused him of arson, theft of public money and
personal property, distribution of marijuana and cocaine, and money
laundering. The satellite piracy charge was added later. Taylor was
charged with burning the home of Hubert Ray Locklear in 1997 and
paying people with drugs to burn the home and pawnshop owned by Vernon
Lewis. He also was charged with distributing more than 50 grams of
crack cocaine and a quantity of marijuana between April 1997 and
January 1998. Taylor declined to discuss those charges or other
matters concerning the case. He said he pleaded guilty to the single
racketeering count "to make amends for my wrongs" and for other former
sheriff's employees. One of his lawyers, Sue Berry of Wilmington, said
Taylor "absolutely did not" commit other crimes outlined in the
indictment. The indictment will be dismissed if Taylor follows the
terms of his 10-page plea agreement. Those terms include truthful
testimony of his crimes and those of others involved. The crimes
happened during the tenure of Sheriff Glenn Maynor, who resigned in
December 2004, citing health problems. Maynor has not been charged.

None of the 15 former deputies who have pleaded guilty has been
sentenced. All 15 have agreed to assist prosecutors as part of their
pleas. Judge Terrence Boyle agreed to ease restrictions on Taylor,
allowing him to travel up to 100 miles from his home so he can better
work in his family's nursery business.

Taylor remains on electronic house arrest until sentencing and must
notify his probation officer when he plans to travel more than 100
miles from home. Lovin and former Deputy Vincent Sinclair are the only
ones charged who are being held in jail. Lovin had been free pending
trial until February, when Boyle revoked his pretrial release for
talking to potential witnesses. Sinclair was ordered to jail in
February, shortly after he pleaded guilty to charges that include
conspiracy in the kidnapping of two Virginia men and conspiracy to
distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.