FORMER AUBURN POLICE OFFICER SENTENCED TO 30 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR EXTORTION

Montgomery, Ala. – Leura G. Canary, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, announced that former Auburn Police Officer Tyrone White and Auburn resident Adam Floyd were sentenced today for conspiracy to extort money from individuals to fix tickets and other city court cases. Both defendants were convicted of substantive counts of extortion, and White was also convicted of witness intimidation and destruction of evidence. United States District Judge W. Harold Albritton sentenced White to 30 months imprisonment and Floyd received 21 months in prison.

According to the evidence at trial, between 2003 and 2005, Floyd had contact with individuals known to him to have cases pending in Auburn’s Municipal Court. Sometimes Floyd would initiate the contact, while on other occasions the individuals would contact him. Floyd would demand money from the individuals in exchange for favorable treatment in the pending city court cases. Once a deal was struck, Floyd would contact White, who would in turn ask the arresting officer to dismiss or reduce the charges, or request a reduced sentence in the case. On other occasions, White independently extorted money from individuals to fix their cases.

After the scheme was uncovered by the Auburn Police Department, trial testimony established that White, purportedly at the direction of White’s then-attorney Julian McPhillips, produced a recording of a conversation White had with one of the persons for whom White fixed a series of tickets. At a meeting with prosecutors and law enforcement agents, McPhillips’ staff played the recording, and White was heard attempting to intimidate the witness to get him to change his story to police investigators. After the meeting, White erased the recording, though prosecutors had subpoenaed the recording to compel White to produce it at a December 2005 hearing.

United States Attorney Canary reaffirmed her commitment to investigating and prosecuting public officials who engage in corrupt practices. She stated, “The public has the right to be assured of the integrity of its public servants, in particular those charged with enforcing the law. My office will continue to aggressively prosecute corrupt public officials who use their office for personal gain.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Auburn Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Brown.