ABC Law Enforcement Chief Charged With Stealing From FBI

WINSTON-SALEM - The chief of the Triad Alcohol Beverage Control Law Enforcement was arrested Wednesday, and is charged with stealing more that $1000 in Federal Bureau of Investigation funds, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court. ABC Enforcement Chief Faces Embezzlement Charges | Court Documents Filed Against ABC Chief

According to the documents, ABC Chief Danny Ray Burton was under investigation for allegedly stealing money on separate occasions.

The documents say that last Friday, FBI investigators gave Burton the chance to steal money he was told was collected as proceeds from an illegal gambling operation.

Investigators said Burton didn't account for the entire amount of money and pocketed the difference.

Investigators said they are looking into the possibility that Burton also stole money on four other occasions, in 2004 and 2007.

According to court documents, Burton failed to account for the total amount of cash seized from a Winston-Salem business during the execution of a warrant in November 2007. The documents say Burton listed only $2,500 worth of cash as being seized from the location, however, another officer who assisted in the seizure told his lawyer that $3,600 was seized.

In a December 2006 incident, an ABC agent reported that $400 was missing from a safe in which only the agent and Burton had the combination and key. The agent reported the money missing to Burton and replaced the missing funds with personal money, the documents reveal.

The documents detail other similar events involving missing funds, including an incident in January 2006 in which Burton is said to have taken evidence from a scene before it was properly documented and photographed and an incident in 2004 where Burton is said to have told an agent, "not to worry about it," after the agent discovered $2,500 from an illegal gambling seizure missing from the agent's personal evidence locker.

Court documents also say that Burton was living above the means of his $60,000 per year salary. Investigator said that a search of a trash Dumpster revealed ATM receipts from Burton's accounts that showed he maintained balances in excess of $20,000.

Burton made a first court appearance Wednesday and was released.

His next court appearance is scheduled for May 27 in a federal court in Winston-Salem.

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