Richard "Scott" Silverthorne, the mayor of DC-suburb City of Fairfax, was arrested Thursday evening after attempting to sell methamphetamine to an undercover police officer in exchange for a sexual encounter.
According to a Fairfax County Police Department news release issued on Friday, police received a tip in late July about a possible distributor of meth in the area. During the investigation, a suspect was identified as selling the substance on a website used by men looking for sexual rendezvous.
"An undercover detective created a profile on this website and within a few days, the suspect made contact through the website," the release said. "Undercover detectives agreed to meet the suspect for a group sexual encounter in exchange for methamphetamine. The suspect arranged to bring methamphetamine along with other men to the engagement."
The undercover cops met the suspect, who turned out to be Silverthorne, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Tysons Corner, Va. on Thursday. After Silverthorne, who is also a substitute teacher in Fairfax County Public School system, handed meth to the officers he was arrested for felony distribution of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
Silverthorne's suspected suppliers, Juan Jose Fernandez and Caustin Lee McLaughlin, were also arrested Thursday. McLaughlin attempted to resist his detainment, and police tased him. All three men were brought uninjured to Fairfax County Adult Detention Center for processing.
Captain Jack Hardin, commander of the Organized Crime and Narcotics Division of the FCPD, said at a press conference Friday morning that law enforcement had "an idea" it was the mayor from the beginning, and that Silverthorne had one other relationship on the website in which he exchanged meth for sex at least twice.
Silverthorne, like "Breaking Bad's" Walter White, is currently fighting cancer, having been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the neck in 2015.