Police Chief and Assistant Chief busted...

Perhaps they thought they were the only ones above the law enough to get away with this.

According to this story, a Police Chief and his assistant were arrested and charged with extortion for taking bribes in exchange to not pursue a drug dealer.

From the AP:

Robinson, 46, and Ruleville Assistant Chief Larry Mitchell, 33, were indicted by a federal grand jury on July 25, but the indictments were sealed until the men were arrested Aug. 4 in the Delta town of 2,935.

Robinson and Mitchell were suspended without pay, and police Lt. Amos Mitchner was appointed to serve as acting chief.

The indictment says that from December 2003 to June 2006, Robinson and Mitchell, acting in their official capacities, conspired to extort cash payoffs in exchange for providing protection for alleged crack dealers and other people Robinson and Mitchell believed to be distributing crack.

Nice huh. It gets worse:

As part of the plea agreement, other federal charges against Robinson will be dropped when he is sentenced within the next 45 to 60 days...

If convicted, Mitchell faces a maximum 40 years in a federal prison and a $2 million fine on the most serious charge. Before entering his plea, Robinson faced the same possible penalties.

So the assistant gets 40 and $2 million, what about the Chief:

Robinson faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years' supervised release, prosecutors said. He remains free on a $20,000 bond.

Sounds like two guys involved in the same crime, both in positions of authority, and the guy at the top of the ladder gets a huge break. Looks like the assistant is taking the fall for this.

What's all that talk about equality under the law, is this is how top authorities lead by example?. I doubt the Chief would even do time in a real prison, given his life expectancy in that situation and the slack awarded him. Though I'm sure Asst. Chief Mitchell would gladly take his place.