He was DEA’s toughest cop in east Louisiana. Now he’s facing corruption charges.

By Kyle Swenson October 5

Interstate 12 twists through 85 miles of eastern Louisiana, stringing Baton Rouge to Slidell on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. The bayou roadway and the rural parishes off its exit ramps were, until almost a year and a half ago, Chad Scott’s turf.

A swaggering drug cop with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Scott and the task force he ran played hardball with the dealers running product through the region, earning big busts and kudos from superiors.

Blond and tan, a champion waterskier, he cultivated the street image as a self-professed “white devil.” One dealer reportedly put out a $15,000 contract on his life, the Advocate reported. Houston rapper Scarface derisively name-checked Scott in a 2000 song. Scott boasted to dealers and informants he was the “baddest” guy to be found on the I-12 corridor.

Today, federal prosecutors concur. ... Over the weekend, the 49-year-old Scott was arrested on 10 charges, the culmination of a large-scale federal probe into activity by Scott’s team, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
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Kyle Swenson is a reporter with The Washington Post's Morning Mix team. He previously worked at the New Times Broward-Palm Beach and Cleveland Scene. Follow @kyletalking