DEA supervisor denies claim that sexual relationship imperiled St. Louis drug case

ST. LOUIS • A federal drug agent denied in testimony here Friday that he ever slept with a confidential informer, but he admitted developing a personal relationship with her.

The conduct of Keith Cromer, who was a group supervisor at the Drug Enforcement Administration office in Atlanta, is the subject of a continuing hearing on whether charges can move to trial against four alleged St. Louis drug ring members — two of them accused of murder.

Officials have acknowledged that allegations of impropriety involving Cromer and a woman known as “CS1,” for “confidential source 1,” are the subject of an internal investigation by the DEA and a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.

CS1 has been paid $212,000 in DEA funds for her help with cases, and played a role in providing information for a wiretap order that investigators said helped bring down the St. Louis ring.

According to documents obtained by the Post-Dispatch, defense attorneys are using information provided by federal prosecutors to claim that DEA investigators may have used CS1 to vouch for improperly obtained information or even their hunches.

The lawyers have questioned whether there was ever evidence to prove several of the claims that prompted a judge to approve wiretapping in the St. Louis case.

Cromer told U.S. Magistrate Judge Shirley Padmore Mensah, “There’s no salacious activity going on.”

He acknowledged turning to CS1 for comfort after his son died of leukemia in 2011, saying the DEA’s employee assistance program had failed him. He said he was depressed, anxious and had survivor’s guilt, but was afraid to let anyone else know.

“In hiding, I chose the wrong person,” he said.

He said he and CS1 had been to dinner, were in the same theater to see a “Three Stooges” movie and had been on two vacations, but stayed in separate rooms and were never intimate. He said sometimes his brother, who was dating CS1’s neighbor, had invited her along. Cromer is married, or was at the time.

He denied falsifying reports to justify payments to CS1, and said no subordinates had either.

“There’s nothing wrong with the work,” he insisted. “That work is solid.”

CS1 was paid $2,500 per month by the DEA. Cromer said that there was no written agreement but that her work was recorded each month to justify her payment. He said that the agency had the same arrangement with others and that his supervisors were aware of it.

Cromer said the allegations of impropriety surfaced in May 2014. By June 2015, his security clearance had been revoked. He said DEA investigators just “took it on faith” that he committed misconduct.

But, he said, “Nobody asked me about it.”

Twice during Friday’s questioning, Cromer asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. In one instance, the judge said he already waived it by testifying on Wednesday. Later, he invoked it when asked about his relationship with CS1 but then answered the questions anyway.

Cromer has not been charged. He said Friday that he had been suspended.

He suggested that CS1 made the allegations after realizing the potential consequences of her cooperation with the DEA, including possible exposure as a source.

Testimony in secret

It is not known what CS1 said in court about the relationship. She testified Monday in a closed hearing. Much of this week’s testimony was taken in secret, with a reporter kept out.

The Post-Dispatch reported online Monday night that defense lawyers for four St. Louis suspects claim the allegation against Comer should result in disqualifying key evidence in the case.

The four, Dionne L. Gatling, Andre Alphonso Rush, Timothy Lamont Rush and Lorenzo Gibbs, were indicted in 2014 on various federal drug-related charges. Gatling and Andre Rush have also been charged and accused of a role in two murders here.

Defense allegations appear to have been somewhat weakened by what testimony was made in open court this week.

A retired DEA agent, John Harvey, said some of the money paid to CS1 was for work done for him that resulted in a valuable seizure. He said agents were forbidden from even being alone with sources, much less having a personal relationship.

He said that an “arms-length” relationship was necessary to protect “the integrity of the whole process.”

Harvey also testified that CS1 contacted him in 2014 about a “relationship” she was having and other problems with the agency, including threats she had received after being outed as a DEA source. Those threats have continued, other agents testified.

DEA agents in St. Louis have buttressed information purportedly obtained from CS1, saying her reports about drug connections between Gatling and a man from California were borne out by subsequent investigation and the wiretaps. Agents here were already aware of Gatling from other investigations, they said.

The proceedings recessed Friday and are due to resume Nov. 21.

$237 million to sources

A report released last month by the Justice Department Office of Inspector General said the DEA had more than 18,000 active confidential sources between Oct. 1, 2010, and Sept. 30, 2015, who were paid a total of $237 million. It criticized management and oversight of the confidential source program and payments.

An OIG staffer has been present at times in the St. Louis courtroom, including for Cromer’s testimony Friday.

The prosecution’s position on the claims is not clear, as many court filings in the case are sealed.

Jeff Jensen, a former supervisor in the U.S. attorney’s office here, said Friday that to prevail, the defense must prove two things: That information in an affidavit for the search warrant was false or contained a reckless disregard for the truth, and that without it there would not be probable cause for the wiretap.

A DEA spokesman in Atlanta declined to comment on the status of employees named in the investigation.

Ashley Lisenby of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

Robert Patrick • 314-621-5154

@rxpatrick on Twitter

RPatrick@post-dispatch.com

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