Mon Valley Town Fires Policeman Accused Of Drug Dealing

Posted: 9:17 am EDT September 10, 2009Updated: 9:31 am EDT September 10, 2009

MONONGAHELA, Pa. — A western Pennsylvania town has fired a veteran police officer accused of drug trafficking and described by the district attorney as an “important figure” in the area’s cocaine trade. The Monongahela City Council voted Wednesday to fire 45-year-old George Langan, a 16-year veteran of the police department.

 Langan has been charged with a variety of drug-related charges and is accused of thwarting the efforts of the Washington County drug task force by tipping off dealers and selling cocaine himself.

 Washington County District Attorney Steven Toprani calls Langan “an important figure in Monongahela’s cocaine trade.”

 Langan remains in jail on bond. His attorney Chris Blackwell did not immediately return calls for comment.

Cop Accused Of Tipping Drug Dealers In Grand Jury Probe

Monongahela Police Veteran George Langan Arrested On Drug, Corruption Charges

WASHINGTON, Pa. — An 18-year veteran of the Monongahela Police Department was arrested while on duty Friday morning, following a grand jury investigation of drug and corruption allegations.

 Patrolman George Langan, 45, of Monongahela, declined comment to Team 4 investigator Jim Parsons as he arrived at the Washington County Courthouse, still wearing his uniform.

“The charges allege Langan protected drug dealers — first by alerting them to pending searches and arrests — and that he also revealed critical, highly confidential police information of counter-narcotics efforts in that area,” District Attorney Steven Toprani said

Langan is accused of accepting cash and cocaine for personal use and helping alleged dealers in exchange, said Toprani, who revealed that Langan came under investigation in June “after drug task force detectives from my county office suspected that several heroin and cocaine investigations were compromised by tip-offs that he allegedly made to targets of those investigations.”

Police Chief Brian Tempest — who worked alongside Langan as a patrolman until last year — wasn’t surprised by the arrest.

 “We had rumors for at least 10 years that George Langan was involved in illegal activity,” said Tempest.

 Langan was arraigned at District Judge Curtis Thompson’s office and taken to Washington County Correctional Facility on $500,000 bond. A hearing was scheduled for Sept. 16.

 WTAE Channel 4’s news exchange partners at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that the charges include obstruction of justice, hindering apprehension, official oppression, possession and delivery of suspected cocaine, conspiracy and witness intimidation.

 Law enforcement sources told Team 4 that Langan tried to hide his payoffs by using them to buy real estate in the Bentleyville area.

 The FBI, state police and the state attorney general’s office assisted with the investigation.