(SBT24/7News) Federal agents Monday arrested two former county police officers and a South Bend officer on paid leave in connection with wire fraud, drug and gun charges.

Agents arrested Ryan Huston and Andy Taghon, fired in July 2006 from their jobs as St. Joseph County Police officers; Jamie Buford, on paid leave from the South Bend Police Department; and Daniel Alvarez, a convicted felon.

A grand jury has indicted Huston, Taghon and Buford with aiding and abetting wire fraud, and conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute the drug. Taghon faces additional charges of selling a firearm to a felon and sale of a stolen firearm, according to federal court records.

Prosecutors declined to comment on the case, instead referring The South Bend Tribune to a press conference planned for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the South Bend Police Department headquarters.

But in indictment documents, prosecutors charge that from July 2004 through March 2005, Huston, Taghon and Buford, through their police work, learned the location of house trailers that contained cocaine and stolen merchandise, according to their indictments. They knew the trailers’ owner, not identified in the court records, was incarcerated at the time, prosecutors said.

The officers stole the items and cocaine and solicited an unnamed convicted felon — someone they knew or should have known was engaged in criminal activity — to return to the trailers and steal more of the items, the documents say. The officers also allegedly tipped off an unnamed person to police patrols in the area.

The officers sold some of the items on eBay, the online auction forum, including: an Al Wissam Source Tribute jacket, a Giovanni World Money leather coat, an X-Box game console and 11 games; a FUBU Collection hooded sweatshirt, a PellePelle leather coat; a Sony PlayStation 2 video game with modem; and some throw-back jerseys, according to court records.

The officers also solicited Alvarez to sell the cocaine they stole from one of the trailers.

Alvarez, the only defendant who has not been a police officer, pleaded guilty in 2003 to a state charge of receiving stolen property, in a scheme that also involved selling stolen items on eBay.

In the current case, payment for the items was deposited into the officers’ accounts, giving rise to the wire fraud charges.

Taghon is also charged with selling two stolen guns — a .38-caliber revolver and a 9-millimeter pistol — to an individual he knew or should have known was a convicted felon. That person ultimately sold the guns to Alvarez, according to the indictment documents.

South Bend Police Chief Thomas Fautz said Monday that he was aware of the indictments but would not comment on them before Tuesday’s press conference. Fautz said he will seek an emergency meeting this week of the city’s Board of Public Safety to have Buford’s leave changed to unpaid, pending the outcome of the charges. It would be up to the board to fire Buford, Fautz said.

St. Joseph County sheriff Frank Canarecci could not be reached for comment Monday.

South Bend Tribune Staff writer Nancy Sulok contributed to this report.

To read the full text of the Grand Jury's charges against the four men, click on the link in the Related Content box.

Stay with WSBT News and The South Bend Tribune for more on this developing story.