A longtime Mesquite police officer was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Monday for stealing money he thought was from a drug dealer but was really part of an FBI sting operation.
John David McAllister, 42, headed the Mesquite police department’s narcotics unit. He was a 22-year veteran of the department.
McAllister was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay in a plea deal. He pleaded guilty just weeks after his arrest to one count of stealing government money.
The FBI set up an elaborate sting operation on March 1 after receiving a tip McAllister was stealing money from drug dealers.
Agents called him to help search a supposed drug dealer’s car, which contained a bag with $100,000 in marked cash.
The car was secretly wired with cameras and recorded him stuffing a bundle of $2,000 into his pants.
Agents later followed him to a mall, where he bought a $480 watch and other items. He still had some of the marked bills in his wallet when agents arrested him, prosecutors said.
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McAllister could have been sentenced up to 10 years behind bars.
He must report to federal prison on July 19.
