Homeland Security agent pleads not guilty to drug distribution conspiracy charge

SALT LAKE CITY — A Department of Homeland Security agent who the FBI says conspired with another agent to sell an illicit drug known as ''bath salts'' pleaded not guilty to a drug distribution conspiracy charge Friday in federal court.

A grand jury in Salt Lake City brought the criminal charge against Special Agent David Cole of the Homeland Security Investigations unit earlier this week. The indictment alleges that Cole abused his position as a federal law enforcement agent to obtain and sell drugs for profit. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Cole took drugs that had been seized as evidence, telling colleagues he was using them for legitimate investigations, and instead sold them to a confidential informant who resold the drugs for profit on the streets of Utah, according to the indictment.

The informant, who has a lengthy criminal history, had been recruited by federal agents to work for them upon his release from prison. But in addition to conducting controlled buys from suspected drug dealers as directed by investigators, the informant said he was compelled by Cole and another agent to also engage in illegal sales.

The investigation began after the informant's defense attorney contacted the U.S. Attorney in Utah in October to report that agents had required him to engage in potentially illegal acts dating from last spring to early December. Details of drug sales offered by the informant were confirmed through surveillance and other sources, the FBI said.

Cole and the second agent — identified in court documents only as ''Person A'' — profited up to $300,000 from the illegal scheme, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case.

FBI spokesperson Sandra Barker said Friday that ''Person A'' had not been arrested or charged, but the investigation was ongoing.

Cole, 50, of South Jordan, Utah, entered the courtroom Friday handcuffed and hunched over, wearing a white and gray, striped jumpsuit. U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Pead accepted Cole's not guilty plea and scheduled a trial for the week of Feb. 24.

Federal officials say Cole's indictment sends a message that officers who break the law and undermine the public's trust in law enforcement will be prosecuted.

''A drug dealer who carries a badge is still a drug dealer — and one who has violated an oath to uphold the law and protect the public,'' said Nicole Argentieri, head of the U.S. Justice Department's Criminal Division. "No one is above the law.''

Special Agent Shohini Sinha, who leads the FBI's Salt Lake City field office, said Cole's alleged actions helped fuel an already devastating drug crisis.

Ingestion of synthetic bath salts, also known as Alpha-PVP or cathinone, can lead to bizarre behavior such as paranoia and extreme strength, according to authorities who say it's similar to methamphetamine, cocaine or ecstasy. They are unrelated to actual bathing products.

Cole's attorney, Alexander Ramos, has declined to directly address the criminal allegations but said his client has a strong reputation within the federal law enforcement community. Ramos did not immediately respond Friday to emails seeking comment on the not guilty plea.

The Homeland Security Investigations department where Cole worked conducts federal criminal investigations into the illegal movement of people, goods, money, weapons, drugs and sensitive technology into, out of and across the U.S. Cole and the second agent had their credentials suspended but have not been fired, according to court documents.