A Missouri legislative candidate has been charged by federal prosecutors with conspiring to plant cocaine and Adderall on his political opponent in an attempt to upend her campaign in the weeks before the primary.
The candidate, Thomas Ross, was accused in a criminal complaint handed down on Wednesday of directing a former campaign manager to plant the drugs on Louise Secker, his opponent in last month’s Republican primary for Missouri’s 161st House District. Mr. Ross won the Aug. 4 primary by 33 votes.
An affidavit described texts and recorded conversations going back to at least May between Mr. Ross and the former campaign manager. Mr. Ross used coded language to discuss plans to plant drugs in Ms. Secker’s car or purse and then place an anonymous call to the police alerting them of the drugs, according to the affidavit. In a text, Mr. Ross wrote that he had hoped doing so “would be extreme egg on the face” of Ms. Secker, the affidavit said.
Messages left with Mr. Ross and the public defenders representing him were not immediately returned. Ms. Secker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An F.B.I. agent, Brandon J. Bernhardt, said in the affidavit that the former campaign manager had given local police a nylon glove he said had been provided by Mr. Ross.
Inside the glove was a small plastic bag that contained white powder, which later tested positive for cocaine, according to the affidavit. Also inside the glove was a pink-and-white capsule, which was identified as Adderall. Both are categorized as controlled substances.
The former campaign manager was fitted with a hidden audio recording device to be used in a meeting with Mr. Ross on July 31 at the candidate’s residence. The campaign manager asked Mr. Ross if he still wanted to “try” to plant the drugs, according to the affidavit. “If you can pull it off . . . pull it off,” Mr. Ross replied, according to the affidavit.
The chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, Peter Kinder, called on Mr. Ross to withdraw from the race for the seat, which includes Jasper County and the city of Joplin, in the southwest corner of the state. While acknowledging Mr. Ross’s right to due process, Mr. Kinder said in a statement that “the people of the 161st District deserve a nominee who can devote his full attention to earning their trust and representing their interests in Jefferson City.”
Mr. Ross, 36, ran for the seat two years ago, but was soundly defeated by the incumbent, Lane Roberts, who did not run for re-election this year. Mr. Ross ran this year on addressing crime, homelessness and drug use, according to his campaign’s website.
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