Deputy police chief showed up at Florida prostitution sting with $180, pack of White Claw, sheriff says
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Georgia deputy police chief landed behind bars after authorities said he was busted in a prostitution sting in Polk County, Florida, last Thursday.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office said 49-year-old Jason DiPrima of Kingston, Georgia, was arrested Thursday for soliciting a prostitute, a first-degree misdemeanor, and booked into the Polk County Jail, where he was released after paying a $500 bond.
Deputies said DiPrima was in Orlando attending a polygraph training workshop when he answered an online advertisement from an undercover detective who he believed was a prostitute.
“Are you available tonight?" he asked the detective in a text message, according to deputies. “I’d like to come see you — what is your rate?”
Authorities said DiPrima agreed to meet and have sex with the undercover detective, but told her he "got spooked" and asked to meet her the next evening.
The next day, he agreed to meet the detective and pay her $120 for a half-hour of sexual activity, according to the sheriff's office.
Deputies said DiPrima showed up at their meeting spot in an undercover police cruiser normally assigned to agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Deputies said DiPrima gave the undercover detective $180 and a multi-pack of White Claw Hard Seltzer. He was promptly arrested.
“What are you thinking?” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a Tuesday afternoon press conference. “You just want to go, 'C'mon man, have you lost the last three brain cells, or do you just have cabbage for brains?’”
The sheriff's office said DiPrima is employed as the Deputy Chief of Police Administration for Cartersville Police Department where he has served for nearly 30 years He was also a graduate of the FBI academy. The department was notified of the matter. It's unclear if he was disciplined.
“If all else fails, he can write a book: How to ruin your career in three easy steps,” Judd added.
The arrest was part of a week-long investigation focusing on human trafficking in the Polk County area. Sheriff Grady Judd is expected to share more details about it at a 3 p.m. press conference Tuesday.