By AP/KWMU
St. Louis – A former suburban St. Louis police officer pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges that he took money to plant evidence in order to sway a child custody dispute.
James Cox of O'Fallon formerly was an officer for the Florissant Police Department.
U.S. Attorney James Martin says last summer Cox took $1,600 in exchange for arranging the arrest of a person on a false credit card charge.
In January, Cox accepted another $1,000, and agreed to plant illegal drugs on the same person.
Martin says the arrests were to be cited in a child custody dispute involving the person who paid the officer.