Alabama: WABM in Birmingham reported that former Eleventh Judicial Circuit Presiding Judge Gilbert P. Self, 64, was sentenced to 51-­1/2 years in state prison on December 17, 2025, following his conviction the previous month on public corruption charges. As CLN reported, a jury found him guilty of repeatedly misusing Lauderdale County judicial accounts to fund family vacations, write himself checks for conferences he did not attend and even float his overdrawn personal bank accounts. [See: CLN, Jan. 2026, p.50.] Citing Self’s “sense of entitlement,” Judge Tim Jolley also imposed a $5,000 fine and barred him from holding any public office in Alabama. Self will not be considered for parole for at a least 12 years.

Arizona: Paul Correa, the former Chief Civil Deputy County Attorney for Cochise County, was arrested on December 18, 2025, on charges of public sexual indecency and evidence tampering. According to KVOA in Tucson, Correa allegedly stalked a juvenile the day before at a Target store in Sierra Vista and filmed her on his mobile device. After he returned to his car in the parking lot, the victim’s father found Correa with his pants “disheveled” as he watched replay of the footage. Someone then called 911 to report one car blocking another in the lot, and responding Sierra Vista Police Department (SVPD) cops took Correa’s personal and business cellphones as evidence, letting him leave the scene. He was arrested the following day during a much more dramatic “high-­risk” traffic stop coordinated by SVPD and deputies of County Sheriff Mark Dannels. His firing was announced that same afternoon by his boss, County Attorney Lori Zucco. She arranged through the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council for a criminal investigation by her La Paz County counterpart, Rachel Shackelford.

Florida: Sanford Police Department (SPD) Off. Ronny Neal, 49, was arrested on December 16, 2025, when he was accused of scamming over $12,000 for fraudulent off-­duty details that he never performed. That was also abuse of his authority as SPD’s off-­duty detail coordinator, WOFL in Orlando reported, for which Neal was charged with 79 felony counts of official misconduct and one count of organized fraud. A year-­long investigation revealed that the 22-­year veteran cop created dozens of fake off-­duty details for himself between October 2023 and July 2024, submitting fraudulent timesheets to bilk the City for work he didn’t do. The scheme unraveled when city finance officials noted Neal’s failure to provide required documentation. SPD Chief Cecil E. Smith was blindsided by the discovery that a fox was in charge of his henhouse, yet he expressed confidence that no other SPD personnel were involved.

Illinois: The City News Wire reported that when a seven-­day trial concluded on December 10, 2025, a federal jury convicted former Summit Police Department (SPD) Chief John Kosmowski, 59, on three felony counts: bribery, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. The disgraced cop conspired with former building inspector William Mundy in 2017 to use their influence to secure a liquor license transfer from bar owner Krzystof Hodurek to one of his relatives, allowing him to own and operate lucrative video gaming machines that he installed in his Fire Station Pub. (Illinois Gaming Board rules do not allow machine owners also to own a bar that is licensed to house them.) In exchange, Hodurek paid the duo a $10,000 bribe, which they split. When the scheme was exposed in 2022, Kosmowski coached Mundy to say the money was just a loan. But Mundy had become a cooperating witness and secretly recorded their conversation, preserving it for Kosmowski’s trial. That also got Kosmowski another conviction for obstruction. Hodurek pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. Kosmowski’s sentencing is set for March 2026.

Iowa: Eagle Grove Police Department (EGPD) Interim Chief Mark Hennigar, 46, was arrested on December 5, 2025, in a bizarre incident that began when his 9-­year-­old child threatened his mother and a family support worker at home with a knife. The Daily Freeman Journal said that Garner Police Department (GPD) cops responded to a 911 call and disarmed the child. When he refused to leave the house, they called Hennigar, who then got into an argument with the mother over speakerphone, eventually telling his son to “grab the [expletive] knife, stab her in the [expletive] throat, and call it good.” The juvenile replied, “Alright,” cracking his knuckles before he attempted to retrieve the knife. The GPD stopped him, later arresting Hennigar on a Class D felony charge of solicitation to commit a felony. Hennigar, who has held multiple supervisory roles in the EGPD, waived his preliminary hearing and pleaded not guilty on December 9. His arraignment is scheduled for January 2026 in Hancock County District Court. The mother requested a no-­contact order for herself and the juvenile, as well as two other kids that she and Hennigar share. The Chief’s attorney called that an attempt to hijack the charges to further one side of a domestic feud. He also said that the restrictions could hinder his client’s law enforcement duties, since – incredibly – Hennigar remains on the job.

Louisiana: Former Lafayette Parish Assistant District Attorney Gary Haynes, 68, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison on December 12, 2025, for coercing bribes from criminal defendants that were paid to a co-­conspirator, in exchange for placement in the Pretrial Intervention (PTI) program that Haynes oversaw. According to KLFY in Lafayette, Haynes directed defendants approved for PTI to sign up for courses provided by Leonard Franques for a fee, part of which Haynes received in a kickback before dismissing their criminal charges. Haynes was convicted in September 2025 on multiple felony counts, including conspiracy to engage in bribery, bribery, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. At sentencing, he was also ordered to pay a $200,000 fine and immediately taken into custody to serve his prison term – which was considerably more lenient than the 65-­year term that was possible.

Mississippi: According to WLBT in Jackson, a massive FBI corruption probe dismantled a protection racket on October 31, 2025, resulting in the arrest of 14 Mississippi law enforcement officers for taking bribes to facilitate drug trafficking – including Washington County Sheriff Milton Gaston, Humphreys County Sheriff Bruce Williams, and Chief Deputy Sheriff Marvin Flowers of Sunflower County. The two-­year investigation used undercover agents posing as Mexican cartel members, who paid the Defendant officials and officers to provide armed escorts for what they believed were shipments of narcotics and drug money traveling up and down Highway 61. Sheriff Gaston allegedly pocketed $20,000, while Sheriff Williams is accused of taking $18,000. Hollandale Police Department Offs. Brandon Addison and Jabari Howard allegedly received over $30,000 each, also traveling to Miami to coordinate future smuggling operations. The others arrested were: Bolivar County Sheriff’s Dep. Wendell Johnson; Humphreys County Sheriff’s Deps. Truron Grayson and Dequarion Smith; Washington County Sheriff’s Dep. Dexter Franklin; Greenwood Police Department Off. Jamario Sanford; Greenville Police Department Offs. Martavus Moore and Chaka Gaines; state Highway Patrol Trpr. Marquavious Bankhead; as well as Mississippi Department of Corrections guards Sean Williams and Marcus Nolan. Acting U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner noted that the investigation was sparked by complaints from drug dealers outraged by the corrupt demands.

Nevada: KNTV in Las Vegas reported that four Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers were arrested on domestic violence charges in less than a month beginning on November 28, 2025. That’s when Off. Chandler Pike, 29, was picked up at his home by cops responding to a call from his unnamed live-­in girlfriend, who said that he struck and strangled her before threatening to shoot himself. The woman, who is also an MPD officer, and her two kids were removed from the home before Pike was apprehended. He posted an unspecified bond and was released the same day. Off. Philippe Dinh, 31, was the next arrested, on December 10, for allegedly and repeatedly abusing his unnamed wife, who also works for MPD in another capacity. Though she found texts in which he admitted “making out” with another unnamed MPD employee, she was the one that he accused of cheating, “tormenting” her while he worked overnight shifts by remotely opening the garage door to get their dog barking. His charges included second-­degree kidnapping and domestic battery by strangulation, and bail was set at $150,000. Off. Melinda Amillia Cooper was taken into custody on December 19 by MPD cops responding to a 911 call from an unnamed child, who was woken from sleep when her mother and Cooper got into a scuffle and tumbled down the stairs at the unnamed woman’s home. She and Cooper were reportedly arguing over texts between the woman and her ex-­husband before Cooper grabbed the phone and tossed it downstairs – setting off a struggle that soon sent both following. Cooper’s bail was set at $3,000. Most recently arrested was Off. Gary Moody on December 22, two days after his unnamed wife called cops to report that he struck her when she took his phone to dial the number of another woman from whom she found texts of a “sexual nature.” After that, she said, he also threatened to cancel her phone plan and stop paying the mortgage on their home. His bail was set at $5,000.

New Jersey: Former State Police trooper Shane H. Dempsey, 33, was sentenced to seven years in state prison on December 10, 2025, for soliciting sex from a minor, RLS Media reported. Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said that Dempsey must serve a minimum of two years before parole eligibility. He was also barred from all future public employment and must register under Megan’s Law. An investigation began last summer when Dempsey used the social media app Whisper to contact an undercover detective posing as a 14-­year-­old girl, offering money for explicit images and sex acts. After arranging a meetup with the “girl,” Dempsey arrived in a State Police vehicle and was apprehended. He pleaded guilty in August 2025 to second-­degree attempted explicit contact and third-­degree official misconduct.

New Jersey: Totowa Police Department Chief Carmen Veneziano, 47, was arrested on December 19, 2025, for allegedly tying up and assaulting an unnamed victim at a Boston hotel. According to the New York Post, Veneziano was charged with kidnapping and three counts of domestic assault and battery for the September incident. He was also cited in February 2025 for operating under the influence and reckless driving in New Jersey. Following the most recent arrest, Totowa Mayor John Coiro suspended Veneziano without pay, and he was held in the Bergen County Jail awaiting extradition to Massachusetts. An attorney for Veneziano, Jared Drill, claimed the charges had no merit, blaming them on “allegations by an ex-­girlfriend, who was extremely intoxicated and got into a verbal argument with the chief at a hotel.”

New York: AML Intelligence reported that former DEA Deputy Chief of Financial Operations Paul Campo, 61, was charged on December 5, 2025, with conspiring to launder $12 million in drug proceeds for Mexico’s notorious Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). Prosecutors allege that Campo, who retired in 2016 after 25 years at the DEA, conspired with Robert Sensi, 75, to convert $750,000 in cartel cash to untraceable cryptocurrency. A confidential source (CS) posing as a CJNG member provided the cash used in the scheme, meaning neither defendant met actual cartel members. According to the indictment, Sensi is a former CIA asset who told the CS that he could procure commercial drones rigged to carry enough C-­4 explosives to “blow up the whole fucking” target. Campo showed off his taxpayer-­funded experience to the CS when outlining methods to conceal the proceeds, including real estate investments and cash smuggling. Both Campo and Sensi pleaded not guilty and were ordered into pre-­trial detention.

New Mexico: KOAT in Albuquerque reported that retired Albuquerque Police Department (APD) Off. Tim McCarson became the ninth current or former officer convicted in a sprawling DWI bribery scheme, when he pleaded guilty to federal extortion and racketeering charges on December 15, 2025. The scheme involved payments from attorney Thomas Clear III to induce McCarson and other officers to sabotage their own cases – intentionally skipping court appearances to ensure automatic dismissal of DWI charges for Clear’s clients. Investigators found that McCarson arrested 26 of Clear’s clients, and 14 later had their charges dismissed. For taking bribes as high as $5,000 per case, McCarson admitted to “conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by extortion under color of official right.” He is also now on the district attorney’s Brady-­Giglio list of officers who have withheld exculpatory information from Defendants. Prosecutors estimated his total take at $70,000. They also hinted at “larger targets” within the APD, whom they promised to investigate, as well.

Ohio: According to WOIOinCleveland, former Rocky River Police Department (RRPD) Off. Michael Bernhardt, 54, was sentenced to six months in prison on December 10, 2025, after pleading guilty to high jacking the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG) database to run unauthorized searches. A former school resource officer, he was charged with three felony counts of unauthorized use of OHLEG to perform searches on students, their families, teachers, school administrators, and fellow law enforcement officers. Many of the improper searches were linked to Bernhardt’s “obsessive and inappropriate relationships with students,” according to prosecutor Michael O’Malley. RRPD got the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation to open an investigation in October 2023. Bernhardt then resigned in April 2024, before his conviction and sentencing in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

Ohio: On December 12, 2025, East Cleveland Mayor Lateek R. Shabazz announced the immediate termination of Sgt. Todd Carroscia from the City Police Department (ECPD), for fraud, record falsification, and insubordination. As WKYC in Cleveland reported, Carroscia was fired from ECPD in 2008 for a reckless vehicle crash that cost the City a $12 million payout to his victims. After he sued and won reinstatement in 2011, he served until 2025 without valid certification from the state Peace Officer Training Academy, covering up the omission by submitting fraudulent training records. He also made false injury claims to abuse the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). He further engaged in inappropriate conduct with fellow employees, including sending sexually explicit messages. The City blamed his actions for over $1.5 million in financial losses, as well as contamination of criminal cases.

Pennsylvania: The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office reported that former Lancaster Police Department Off. Andrew “Scott” Selby was sentenced on December 18, 2025, to a prison term of 22.5 to 57 years, for the predatory sexual assault of three juveniles. The “insidious” attacks occurred during the 1990s, while Selby, now 56, served in law enforcement. One victim, then 16, was raped just days after Selby was assigned to investigate her earlier sex assault. Senior Judge William P. Mahon called Selby a “pathological liar” who used his badge to facilitate “reprehensible” cruelty, targeting children from vulnerable backgrounds. A victim agreed that the former lawman was a “psychopath” who exploited girls from “shattered families and tragedy.”

Tennessee: Former Memphis Police Department Off. Patric J. Ferguson, 34, was sentenced to 38 years in federal prison on December 1, 2025, for executing Robert Lee Howard Jr. while on duty and disposing of the body in a river. According to the Tennessee Lookout, Ferguson carried out a personal vendetta on January 5, 2021, when he utilized a police database to track down Howard, who was dating someone Ferguson had also dated. Using his marked patrol car to kidnap Howard, Ferguson fatally shot him in a parking lot and then conspired with accomplice Joshua M. Rogers to sink the body in the Wolf River using chains, padlocks, and cinderblocks. Ferguson pleaded guilty to federal kidnapping, civil rights violations, and obstruction charges. Rogers received a 56-­month sentence for his role in the cover-­up.

Vermont: Former Addison County Sheriff Peter Newton, 53, was sentenced to two years of probation on October 22, 2025, after agreeing to plead guilty to lewd and lascivious conduct and simple assault – charges much less serious than counts of sexual and domestic assault that he initially faced for attacking a woman in 2022, after she sought help for domestic abuse. For taking advantage of that vulnerability to compound her suffering, the unnamed victim told the court that the Sheriff “shattered my trust in the system,” according to Vermont Public Radio. While the plea agreement requires Newton to attend counseling for domestic violence and mental health, the victim tried to back out of the deal when Newton took to Facebook to call the investigation “one sided,” also claiming that he pleaded guilty only “over a small bruise.” Judge John Pacht noted Newton’s lack of remorse, saying that he observed the bruising and it was “way more than slight.” Newton, who refused to step down when charged, received a deferred sentence on the lewd conduct count, so it may be expunged after his probation concludes.

Wisconsin: According to WLUK in Green Bay, former Neenah Police Department (NPD) Off. Owen Halls, 23, was sentenced on December 19, 2025, to three years in prison for possession of child pornography. Halls, who was hired in March 2024, was also ordered to serve five years of extended supervision. He was still in his probationary period when he was charged in March 2025, and he was terminated immediately. Halls initially claimed that he encountered the porn accidentally and merely failed to report it. But investigators working a tip to the Internet Crimes Against Children hotline found that he actively solicited child pornography online and traded it there with others. After Halls confessed, NPD Chief Aaron Issued a public apology for failing to catch the child predator before he was hired as a cop.  

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