Del. officer indicted on felony charges following cigarettes-for-drugs scheme investigation

DELAWARE – A felony indictment has been secured against a suspended officer with the Delaware Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement (DATE) for trading DATE-controlled cigarette cartons to a third party for drugs and money.

Attorney General Kathy Jennings and DATE announced on Wednesday that 33-year-old Joseph Dominic faces five felony charges and one misdemeanor charge following a joint investigation by DATE and Delaware State Police.

The investigation began in October 2023 when supervising officers reportedly became suspicious of Dominic’s handling of seized cartons of cigarettes. The indictment alleges that DATE supervisors became suspicious about his handling of cigarette partons that were issued to him and subsequently called in Delaware State Police to help with the investigation. It was discovered that Dominic had been issued 30 cartons of cigarettes from DATE supervisors in order to provide them to other law enforcement agencies, but instead allegedly provided the cartons to an unauthorized third party for sale. The profits from these sales were reportedly shared evenly between Dominic and the third party, whom authorities believe also provided Dominic with illegal drugs. Dominic is also accused of illegally submitting false information in police reports in order to conceal his conduct.

Dominic now faces felony charges of official misconduct, theft, theft by false pretense, second degree conspiracy, and first degree tampering with public records, as well as a misdemeanor charge of illegal possession of a controlled substance.