Dirty Cop Castillo Admits to Cocaine Heist

COLUMBUS, OH – The blue wall cracked a little wider today as John Castillo, 31, of Grove City, confessed to betraying his oath and the public trust. Castillo, a former Columbus police officer, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine – a charge stemming from a brazen scheme to steal and sell narcotics seized during an investigation.

Court documents reveal Castillo wasn’t working alone. In February 2021, while assigned to investigate drug crimes, Castillo conspired with a fellow officer to divert approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine from the evidence chain. The pair raided a house on North Everett Avenue, seizing the drugs not for justice, but for personal gain. Instead of booking the evidence, they simply pocketed it.

The deception didn’t stop there. To cover their tracks, Castillo and his co-conspirator deliberately planted two additional kilograms of cocaine back at the North Everett Avenue location, ensuring law enforcement would “discover” it later that same day. This manufactured evidence was designed to create a false narrative, masking their theft and protecting their scheme.

The stolen 10 kilograms of cocaine weren’t destined for destruction. Instead, Castillo and his partner stashed the drugs in the other officer’s basement, then handed them off to an unnamed individual for distribution and sale. The details of who received the drugs and the profits generated remain under investigation, but the scope of the corruption is undeniable.

Castillo now faces a harsh reckoning. Possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and could extend to life behind bars. This case serves as a stark reminder that corruption can fester even within the ranks of those sworn to uphold the law.

United States Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cincinnati Division, jointly announced the guilty plea, entered before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter K. Glenn-Applegate and Elizabeth A. Geraghty are prosecuting the case. The investigation was spearheaded by the FBI’s Southern Ohio Public Corruption Task Force, a multi-agency team including the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Ohio Auditor of State’s Office, and the Columbus Division of Police – a bitter irony given the circumstances. The investigation is ongoing, and further indictments are possible.