Cop Arrested In Sting Claims He Was Undercover, Too

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jan 15, 2009 6:00PM

Life imitates 24. A police officer snared in the sting that resulted in the arrests of multiple law enforcement officers in the fall claims he's innocent because he was working undercover, too. Archie Stallworth (pictured right) was one of several Harvey police officers and Cook County sheriffs arrested for an alleged drug conspiracy in which they took pay to allow drug dealers to keep their business flowing. Stallworth was arrested for making false police reports but handed said reports over to the Sun-Times and insist that they're not fake.

According to the charges against Stallworth, he met the undercover FBI agent at a south suburban fast-food restaurant July 26 to provide security for a meeting. Afterward, the agent paid Stallworth $300 and said he needed someone to provide security for drug deals.

Stallworth provided the Sun-Times with a July 27 police report he said he filed after the meeting at the restaurant. The report says he met with a man who "began to speak in detail about his interaction in trafficking narcotics." Stallworth wrote that he planned to contact federal authorities when he received more information on the drug operation.

So he was working undercover on an undercover agent? Does that create a Möbius strip of undercover activity? The Harvey Police Department referred the S-T to the U.S. Attorney's office who declined to comment.

Image via Sun-Times