News

GOP senator’s aide admitted trading drugs for sex: report

by Ben Kamisar - 04/24/15 5:28 PM ET

A staffer for Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) admitted to distributing methamphetamine and another drug in exchange for sexual favors, according to a report in The Washington Post.

Customs and Border Patrol officers in Cincinnati found a package of gamma-Butyrolactone (GBL) addressed to Fred Wesley Pagan, according to a court document.

Homeland Security agents searched his house in the Brightwood neighborhood of Washington D.C., on Thursday and found a substance that tested positive for meth in plastic bags, the court document states.

{mosads}The Post reports Pagan is a long-time employee of Cochran and currently serves as his office manager.

Pagan allegedly admitted he bought the GBL from China knowing it was illegal. GBL is a Schedule I controlled substance, on par with marijuana and LSD, and is purported to build muscles, reduce stress and enhance sex. It also breaks down into the party-drug GHB, which is also known as the “date-rape drug,” according to the Justice Department.

He told investigators he “intended to distribute both the GBL and methamphetamine in exchange for sexual favors,” according to the court document.

“The senator is traveling to Mississippi right now and has not seen the details included in the documents you provided,” Cochran communications director Chris Gallegos told the Post on Friday.

“Our office is in the process of consulting with Senate legal counsel.”

The 49-year-old appeared in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday, and a grand jury indicted him on intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and on importing a controlled substance.

The distribution charge carries a mandatory minimum of five years in jail and no more than 40 years, while the importation charge carries a maximum of 20 years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Tags Thad Cochran