Former, current WCSO deputies indicted by federal grand jury

A former and current Wayne County Sheriff’s deputy have been indicted by a federal grand jury.

According to the indictment, Michael Kenneth Cox, 48, and Christopher Worth, 52, were each indicted on 12 separate fraud charges stemming from an alleged scheme undertaken by Worth and Cox to steer contracts for upfits of Wayne County Sheriff’s Office vehicles to a business owned by Cox and employing Worth, regardless of whether Cox’s company provided such work at the lowest price as required by the Wayne County procurement requirements, a news release said.

Cox was employed by the WCSO from 1996 until he retired as the head of the Drug Unit in 2018. Worth joined the WCSO in 1993 and currently serves as a major overseeing criminal enforcement sections and support services.

In addition to the fraud charges, Cox was indicted for conspiring with multiple drug traffickers to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and oxycodone and two counts of making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the release said.

“Law enforcement officers take an oath to protect and serve our communities by upholding the rule of law,” U.S. Attorney Michael Easley said. “Our office will continue to hold accountable those who violate the public trust and abuse their position for personal gain.”

The WCSO has been under federal investigation since 2022, but in May of that year, Sheriff Larry Pierce said the probe was related to “old cases” handled by a “prior employee.”

In a statement released to media that day, Pierce said:

“Several months ago, we were made aware of a federal investigation involving old cases that were handled by a prior employee. We have fully cooperated with the investigation and will continue to cooperate with authorities as requested. At this time, we are unaware of the status of this investigation and can’t comment further until the investigation is completed.”

According to a statement issued by Pierce this afternoon, Worth has been placed on administrative leave without pay, pending the outcome of the charges.

For more details, see this weekend’s Wayne Week — which will be delivered to our subscribers Friday evening ahead of the Labor Day holiday.