ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - A
fired Arlington police officer, caught up in a department wide steroid scandal,
will spend a year and a day in jail for his attempt to protect an alleged drug
dealer.
Former officer Thomas
Kantzos, 45, plead guilty to one count of Exceeding Authorized Access to a
Protected Computer. Prosecutors say
Kantzos improperly used a police computer to help tip off his steroids dealer.
Kantzos admitted to using a
computer system reserved for law enforcement at the request of the suspected
drug dealer to warn him about police surveillance. Kantzos used the computer in his patrol car,
while on duty, to “run” the license plate number provided to him by the
suspected drug dealer, even though he knew it was illegal to do so.
Kantzos will report to the
Bureau of Prisons on April 1, 2014. He
was facing a sentence of up to five years in prison.
Kantzos was an 18-year
veteran the Arlington Police Department.
He was fired after his arrest in June.
Another officer, David Vo,
35, was also implicated in the drug ring and was arrested for allegedly buying
and distributing illegal steroids. He committed suicide in June after bonding
out of jail.