‘Rockfish’ defendant alleges ties to KGB/Russian Mafia

Published 9:37 am Thursday, December 17, 2015

GREENVILLE – Recently unsealed documents in the Operation Rockfish police corruption case shows alleged ties to the KGB and Russian mafia by one defendant.

Meanwhile, one other defendant allegedly brought his young children to a meeting of a drug trafficking organization (DTO) while other maintained that he met with members of the organization while working off-duty at a local high school.

The documents unsealed were part of detention hearings held early on in the case when most of the defendants were remanded back to federal custody and before any plea agreements were made.

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As of this report, the five who have pled guilt in the case are scheduled for sentencing the ear ly part of next year and include Wardie Vincent Jr., Tosha Dailey, Kavon Phillips, Alaina Sue-Kam-Ling, and Crystal Pierce. Vincent Jr. is a former Northampton Deputy and the son of now retired Northampton Sheriff Wardie Vincent Sr. Dailey was once employed by Northampton County as a 9-1-1 dispatch operator.

Documents are not included for Pierce or Dailey.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of the unsealed documents, which were part of the federal court record at the District Office in Greenville, is the admission of Thomas Jefferson Allen II, a former sergeant and deputy in the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office and former sheriff’s deputy in Halifax and Gates counties.

He informed the DTO of his ties to Russia, the former KGB, and the Russian mafia; offered to connect members of the DTO with criminal associates in Russia so the DTO could expand operations; formerly lived in Russia (his wife is from Russia); repeatedly stated he wanted to recruit federal law enforcement officers to join the DTO; informed the DTO how to avoid law enforcement detection, including how to avoid GPS tracking through cell phones and advising that communications should be by text messaging only; made numerous incriminating statements in a subsequent interview to Halifax County Sheriff’s Office while claiming that he had been investigating the DTO, including that he had unsuccessfully tried to recruit law enforcement officers to join the DTO’s operations, that he was scared he would receive a target letter, that he had participated in federal crimes, and that he was requesting immunity from prosecution.

The unsealed documents also alleged that Curtis Boone, a former Northampton County Sheriff’s Office Deputy, attended a meeting with undercover agents, whom he believed to be members of the DTO, while working security at Northampton County High School in police uniform and with service weapon. He also alleged he was present for discussion with undercover agents about recruiting more law enforcement officers for the DTO, including expanding outside North Carolina.

Antonio Tillmon, a former Windsor and Williamston police officer and former North Carolina correctional officer, alleged in the unsealed documents that he brought his young children to a meeting with members of the DTO at a restaurant; carried firearm and drove load vehicle in Operation #12; carried multiple firearms and provided a firearm to Sue-Kam-Ling in Operation #16; and was in possession of four firearms and compatible ammunition for those firearms on the day of his arrest, including a semi-automatic rifle with scope.

Other admissions by the “Rockfish” defendants include:

Lann Clanton, a former correctional officer in Virginia and Weldon police officer, stated that he had conducted robberies of vehicles he stopped with money or drugs, and had stated during robberies, “We can do this two ways. You can hand it over right here or I can call a K9 and get a search warrant.”

The FBI learned that he was paid by known criminals to take official police action in exchange for cash payments; assumed leadership role in the drug trafficking operation; recruited others for the DTO; told an undercover agent that he was useful to her because he had a police shirt and gun; committed extortion offense with a visible firearm; attended interdiction class taught by Vincent Jr. on how to avoid law enforcement detection while transporting drugs for the DTO; and carried a firearm during Operation #15.

Ikeisha Jacobs, a former sergeant with the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office, Weldon police officer, and North Carolina correctional officer, admitted to attending an initial DTO recruitment meeting in uniform and in a patrol car; assumed leadership role in the DTO; recruited others for the DTO; stated that for the past three years she had been transporting drugs and drug proceeds for a real DTO; attempted to broker a deal between two DTOs; at her request, the DTO paid for her to attend the 2014 North Carolina Narcotics Officers Conference so she could alert the DTO to sensitive law enforcement information she learned at conference; and attended the interdiction class taught by Vincent Jr.

Jason Boone, a former captain with the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office, alleged that he had also attended Vincent’s class, and had recruited others for the DTO.

Vincent Jr. admitted to teaching the interdiction class to co-defendants. According to information from FBI, he associates with known drug dealers; drove load #2 vehicle in Operation #9; discussed how to recruit others, including a family member, for the DTO and expansion of the DTO to Virginia and New Jersey; and was in possession of his NCSO badge on the day of arrest though he resigned from NCSO in April 2013.

Adrienne Moody, a former North Carolina correctional officer, allegedly asked a member of the DTO to front her 10 kg of drugs so she could distribute them on her own; and attended pre-operation meeting with members of the DTO during which location of drugs in load vehicle and firearms were discussed.

Cory Jackson, a former deputy with the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office, is said by the FBI to have instructed members of the DTO to watch their speed to avoid law enforcement detection during an operation; helped load a tractor trailer with drugs in Operation #8; recruited fellow Northampton deputies Jimmy Pair Jr. and Thomas Allen; and was in possession of his NCSO ID card on the day of arrest though he left the NCSO in 2013.

Pair, a former NCSO lieutenant, is alleged to have carried a a firearm in Operations #8 and #15; drove load vehicle in Operation #16; and recruited another defendant to join the DTO.

The Operation Rockfish police corruption sting contains a 54-count federal indictment that alleges 13 current and former law enforcement officers and two other individuals protected narcotics shipments and cash proceeds during transit along the East Coast for what they believed was a large-scale drug trafficking organization that was actually an undercover operation by the FBI. The defendants were arrested in April of this year.

(Lance Martin is the Editor and Publisher of www.rrspin.com. This article is printed with his permission.)