Cop a no-show on hooker sex charges

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PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A New Jersey deputy sheriff failed to appear at a court hearing looking into allegations he gave a prostitute drugs in exchange for sex.

Prosecutors said Thomas W. Smith, an officer with the Camden County (N.J.) Sheriff's Department, has not been charged with a crime, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.

He failed to appear at a hearing in Camden, N.J., Thursday.

In a letter to Smith's attorney obtained by the Daily News, prosecutors claimed to have recorded phone conversations and text messages between Smith and the prostitute, identified only as Angelina.

The prosecutor's letter offered to drop charges of second-degree official misconduct if he pleaded guilty to a third-degree offense and gave up his job.

The officer has denied the allegations.

Smith's attorney, Leonard Baker, declined to comment after his client failed to appear at the hearing. Smith did not return a phone call requesting comment.

The Prosecutor's Office declined to comment on the letter or why Smith has not been charged.