BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A former county prosecutor was taken into custody Wednesday evening after a 10-month investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement yielded bribery charges.
John Toppa III, 31, first was arrested March 9, 2016, after purchasing 10 Roxicodone pills from Brevard County deputies in an undercover bust. After searching Toppa's vehicle that night, deputies found other illegal narcotics, Florida Today reports.
The assistant state attorney was fired from the 18th Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office following the drug charges, officials said.
Toppa told deputies he once helped a man who he had purchased drugs from in the past get a better plea deal in a case, according to a warrant affidavit.
Toppa, of Melbourne, worked in felony trials for the State Attorney's Office for four years. Following the March arrest, State Attorney Phil Archer said his office was reviewing all of Toppa's criminal cases and requested an independent investigation into his behavior while employed.
"We also requested Gov. Rick Scott assign another state attorney to the prosecution of Toppa for any identified criminal offenses," the State Attorney's Office said in a prepared statement Thursday.
FDLE determined Wednesday grounds to charge Toppa with bribery and unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior.
"We appreciate the extensive effort made by the FDLE in completing their investigation leading up to yesterday’s arrest of Mr. Toppa for bribery and unlawful compensation," the State Attorney's Office's statement read. "We are both saddened and disappointed by these developments, but understand the importance of accountability by all public officials."
Text messages found on Toppa's cell phone showed him sending photos of criminal case files to one man, talking about narcotics and narcotics dealing with others and coordinating a deal to get a favorable plea bargain for another man in exchange for about $1,000, according to reports.
FDLE agents spoke with one man who said he met Toppa through a mutual friend. He and Toppa were struggling with a prescription pill addiction, according to reports.
The man eventually became a liaison between Toppa and a friend of the man who had been charged with drug and traffic offenses.
A series of text messages over the course of about two weeks in April through May 2016 chronicled a deal between Toppa, the man and his friend as Toppa worked to convince the friend's attorney to get him off without probation for the charges. In exchange, the friend gave Toppa about $1,000, FDLE reported.
The friend's attorney told FDLE agents Toppa approached him about the case and asked if he could "get rid of the probation and some of the sanctions in the case," officials report.
In a recorded meeting between Toppa and the man in early January, Toppa said he didn't know anything about helping out the man's friend in his case.
Toppa was booked into the Brevard County Jail about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. His bond is set at $30,000.