MADISON, WI
A federal complaint alleges that police officer Andrew Pullum, 31, Verona, Wis., stole $3,950 inside a bag from the trunk of an alleged drug dealer’s car, officials announced last week.
The $3,950 was prerecorded FBI-owned money, officials said.
Pullum, a police officer with the Madison Police Department, is facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted, officials said.
The complaint filed against Pullum alleges that on December 17, 2015, in an investigation that began after a citizen tip, he was directed to make contact with a citizen providing information to the police, who was in fact an FBI undercover officer, according to authorities.
The undercover officer told Pullum that she was angry at her drug dealing boyfriend and that there may be cocaine and money in a parked car.
The complaint alleges that Pullum opened the trunk of the car, and removed a bag containing $3,950 in prerecorded FBI-owned money and placed it in his vehicle.
The complaint further alleges that Pullum called for a drug detection canine to assist in a possible search of the undercover car, but that he failed to turn over the money he had earlier removed from the car and he failed to log any money into evidence from his shift.
After the Madison Police Department received the citizen tip, the department’s Internal Affairs Division immediately contacted federal authorities, officials said.
The charge against Pullum is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI with cooperation of the Madison Police Department, officials said.