A Virginia mayor has been arrested on
charges that he exchanged illegal drugs for sex with other men.
According to NBC
Washington, undercover detectives arrested Richard “Scott”
Silverthorne, the 50-year-old mayor of Fairfax, on Thursday after he
allegedly attempted to exchange methamphetamine for sex.
“I ask that you allow the process to
proceed before rushing to judgment (as tough as that may be),”
Silverthorne wrote in a Facebook post.
After police received a tip in July
that the mayor was exchanging drugs for sex with men on an
unidentified gay hookup website, undercover detectives set up a sting
operation. Within a few days, Silverthorne had agreed to meet with a
man who was an undercover detective, and even promised to bring along
other men.
In the last year, Silverthorne has lost
his full-time civilian job and his home and was diagnosed with
cancer.
Silverthorne was first elected mayor in
2012. He is expected to be arraigned on Wednesday.