The former police chief in Elizabeth Borough admitted Tuesday that he stole heroin belonging to the FBI from an evidence locker for his own use.
Timothy Butler, 46, pleaded guilty in federal court to a count of theft of government property.
Butler had been indicted this summer following an FBI investigation. He already had been prosecuted in state court for stealing from an evidence locker.
The federal case charged him with stealing heroin from June 2017 until December 2018. The FBI said the drugs had been seized in two federal investigations.
Butler, who was part of an FBI task force, stole the heroin and used it for himself, prosecutors said.
Although had been prosecuted in state court, the U.S. attorney brought federal charges because the heroin belonged to the FBI.
Butler had received probation and community service in the state case.
Police discovered nearly 10,000 missing and empty stamp bags of heroin and fentanyl from the Elizabeth department’s property room.
Investigators also found empty stamp bags in a trash can in Butler’s office and others lying on his desk.
Butler admitted to another officer that he had become addicted to heroin after taking Vicodin for pain.
U.S. District Judge Marilyn Horan said she would sentence Butler in the spring.
Torsten covers the courts for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Reach him at jtorsteno@gmail.com.
