Henrico police Deputy Chief Major Eley protecting Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor from investigation of corruption.
Major Christopher Eley has been with the HPD since 1998 and currently heads the investigative bureau of the HPD appears to be violating his sworn duty as he breaks procedure of investigating corruption by local officials.
The criminal complaints give details of illegal campaign contributions given to Shannon Taylor over a span of eight years which amount to over $15,000., allegedly the payments were made in exchange to sabotage the extradition of an alleged cocaine dealer who distributed over 600 kilos of cocaine in the Richmond area and had thirteen (13) indictments pending against him.
A March 01, 2013 Richmond times newspaper article stated that the drug dealer had been arrested in the Philippines and was awaiting extradition by the Henrico Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor. After one year and seven months, C/A Taylor never filed for extradition and the cocaine dealer was allowed to leave for his safe haven of Greece, which protects him from extradition, as he is a Greek national.
The criminal complaint also states that Henrico Commonwealth attorney were tampering with the fugitives case files by removing evidence and documents from the Henrico Circuit Court Clerk's office.
Henrico Circuit Court files indicate that C/A Shannon Taylor and Judge L.A. Harris, who has been the judge in the cocaine dealers case, have refused to transport the fugitive from Greece to Virginia to be prosecuted for the thirteen (13) indictments pending for distribution of cocaine.
In an attempt to cover up the investigation of C/A Taylor, Deputy Chief Eley stated in emails that the criminal complaint was turned over to the FBI, which the FBI does not have jurisdiction in local investigations.
Letters from the Director Jane Chambers, of the Virginia Commonwealth Attorneys Service Council, stated that corruption investigations are handled by the local police in that jurisdiction, which would be Henrico Police Department.
The Virginia State Bar, who handles ethics violations by licensed attorneys, also stated in letters that criminal investigations are handled by local police in that jurisdiction.
Last year, Henrico County was contemplating to assign a special prosecutor to review complaints filed against HPD staff but County Manager John Vithoulkas cut funding for the position and stating that the candidate for the position could not view complaints objectively.
Until this writing, Henrico County has not hired for the special prosecutors position, which is desperately needed as there is no objective authority to investigate complaints with the Henrico Police Department.
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