There are political dirty tricks, and then there are really dirty tricks: A candidate for the Missouri legislature has been charged with trying to plant cocaine on his Republican primary opponent.
For good measure, the attempted dirty trick also included planting the frequently-abused stimulant Adderall, a form of “speed” in the amphetamine family of prescription drugs.
Federal authorities have charged Thomas Ross, 37, with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance for allegedly asking his former campaign manager to plant the substances on his opponent, Louise Secker, in the weeks leading up to the August 4 Republican primary, news outlets are reporting per court documents.
Ross, of Joplin, defeated Secker by fewer than three dozen votes, NBC reported.
The two Republican candidates were competing for the nomination for a house seat representing Missouri’s 161st District, which primarily covers Joplin.
Ross did not respond Thursday to the Associated Press asking for comment on the charges filed mid-week. The federal public defender’s office assigned to the case also did not comment when asked how the nominee planned to plead.
In a statement issued this week, Missouri’s Republican Party chairman, Peter Kinder, called on Ross to drop out of the race, calling the allegations “serious and deeply troubling.”
AP reported:
A former campaign manager for Ross told law enforcement officers that Ross provided him with a black nylon glove that contained a small, plastic bag of white powder and a pink and white capsule. He said Ross told him to place it in Secker’s purse or vehicle while Ross was out of state on vacation, according to a probable cause statement signed by an FBI agent.
Federal investigators also secured text messages between the candidate and his campaign chief while he was away in Myrtle Beach, at one point allegedly asking the manager, “Any luck with the substance of the matter? I won’t be gone much longer.”
The FBI also secretly recorded an alleged conversation between the two where Ross suggested that they call in an anonymous tip that opponent Seckler had drugs in her car, NBC reported per the affidavit.
“If you can pull it off, pull it off,” Ross allegedly said.
Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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