Ala. officer accused of taking $70,000 in scam

In this undated photo provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Faron White is seen. An all-out search for White, a missing Alabama organized crime specialist, led to Las Vegas, where the decorated officer was arrested and accused of staging his disappearance to cover up the theft of $2,500 from his department, authorities said Tuesday.

By: Associated Press | Opelika Auburn News
Published: January 07, 2009

DECATUR, Ala. — A north Alabama police officer accused of faking his abduction and flying to Las Vegas took about $70,000 from a safe containing confiscated drug money, according to an affidavit.

Authorities initially said Sgt. Faron White, a 20-year veteran of the Decatur Police Department, took about $2,500 from the safe of the narcotics unit he directed, although they said thousands more could be missing.

The affidavit with the new amount was filed Tuesday by Morgan County authorities in support of an arrest warrant for Sarah Richardson who is accused of helping White stage his disappearance.

The sworn statement by Decatur Sgt. Richard Archer said Richardson was aware that White had stolen about $70,000 and on Saturday morning drove him to the airport in Nashville.

Federal marshals arrested the 48-year-old White in a Hampton Inn hotel lobby Monday night in Las Vegas, three days after he was last seen working late in his office in Decatur. He faces an extradition hearing in Las Vegas Thursday. Police say he planned to try to win money to pay off gambling and other debts.

The affidavit says Richardson, a police volunteer, met up with White at the Decatur Police Training Center at about 11:30 p.m. Friday before driving him to Nashville early Saturday morning. Police have said the two were romantically involved.

The affidavit, which does not specifically say where Archer got the information, was first reported by The News Courier in Athens.

Richardson is accused of helping White scatter papers from his desk to make it look like he may have struggled with someone before being abducted.