DEA trouble

A former agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Atlanta was sentenced Thursday to 21 months in prison for failing to report cash income for 2004.

Gregory Campion, 38, now of Orlando, Fla., was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jack T. Camp to perform 100 hours of community service. The sentence was increased because Judge Camp found that a substantial portion of the unreported income came from illegal activity, which was not contested. Specifically, Campion did not contest the Government’s evidence that the funds were stolen from drug money seized in narcotics investigations.

Between 2003 and 2005 Campion was an assistant supervisor at a DEA task force office in Atlanta, where he had access to millions of dollars of cash seized from suspected drug traffickers. Several seizures conducted during this time were “short,” meaning the final amount counted by the bank was thousands of dollars less than the original amount seized.

During 2004, Campion deposited more than $200,000 in cash in his accounts, none of which was reported as income on his tax returns. He had been placed on administrative leave in 2005, and resigned his position at DEA when he pleaded guilty to the federal charge. Campion was indicted in March 2006, and pleaded guilty in March 2008 to tax evasion.