Political Candidate Charged with Conspiracy to Plant Drugs on Rival
Political tactics can get pretty underhanded, but this one takes it to another level: a candidate in Missouri has been charged with trying to plant cocaine on his Republican primary opponent.
To add to the scheme, there was also an attempt to include Adderall, a widely abused stimulant that falls under amphetamines, which is often associated with speed.
Thomas Ross, 37, from Joplin, has been charged by federal authorities for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Allegedly, he instructed his former campaign manager to plant these substances on his opponent, Louise Secker, in the lead-up to the Republican primary on August 4, as reported by various news outlets alongside court documents.
Interestingly, Ross won against Secker by a narrow margin of fewer than thirty votes, according to NBC.
Both candidates were vying for the nomination for a house seat representing Missouri’s 161st District, focusing mainly on Joplin.
Ross did not provide any comments to the Associated Press regarding the charges, and the public defender’s office assigned to him also remained silent about his intended plea.
This week, Peter Kinder, the chairman of Missouri’s Republican Party, called for Ross to step aside, labeling the allegations as “serious and deeply troubling.”
A former campaign manager revealed to law enforcement that Ross had given him a black nylon glove containing a small plastic bag of white powder and a pink and white capsule. He reportedly instructed the manager to discreetly place these items in Secker’s purse or vehicle while he was on vacation, based on a probable cause statement from an FBI agent.
Additionally, federal investigators discovered text exchanges between Ross and his campaign chief while he was reportedly away in Myrtle Beach. At one point, he seemingly inquired, “Any luck with the substance of the matter? I won’t be gone much longer.”
There’s more— the FBI also captured a conversation where Ross suggested that they should make an anonymous tip about Secker supposedly having drugs in her car, as reported by NBC.
“If you can pull it off, pull it off,” he allegedly said.
