More charges filed against suspended Braddock cop
Share with others:
A Braddock police officer awaiting trial on burglary and bribery charges was arraigned today in another string of crimes in which police said he pressed a prostitute into a sham prostitution sting and stole a shotgun from evidence, among other things.
James J. Scuffle, 30, was arraigned this afternoon before District Judge Denise Thiel on a ream of charges including multiple counts of theft, access device fraud, forgery and receiving stolen property in connection to seven different incidents. He was also charged with cocaine possession.
In the most recent set of crimes, state police said Mr. Scuffle attempted to sell a shotgun lifted from evidence to a girlfriend. They also recovered around $40,000 of fire equipment that had gone missing from local fire departments after executing a search warrant at his home in Plum and stole a trailer.
In the most egregious case, police said Mr. Scuffle used a prostitution sting to steal from a deaf man. According to a criminal complaint, Mr. Scuffle solicited a prostitute for oral sex and then arrested her. He then told her that she had to help him with a prostitution sting.
The woman, under Mr. Scuffle's supervision, lured a deaf man who was driving through Braddock to the back of a building at around 9 p.m. on Aug. 21. Mr. Scuffle took the man's wallet and detained him, but later released him. It's unclear if he was ever charged.
About a half hour later, the man returned to the station because about $200 in cash and a credit card were missing from his wallet. The woman told police that Mr. Scuffle told her "He's missing 160 bucks. Think he'll find it?" He then laughed.
The man's credit card was later charged $100 at Seven Springs Resort. State police have traced Mr. Scuffle's cell phone to that area on the day the charge was made.
Mr. Scuffle was suspended in October after being arrested on charges included bribery and theft. In those cases, state police said he stole a trailer, made a fraudulent insurance claim and tried to use crack cocaine seized from a drug dealer to keep an accomplice from testifying against him.
Mr. Scuffle remains free on $50,000 unsecured bond and is awaiting trial on the first set of charges.
First Published February 8, 2012 5:33 pm
