US judge accused of buying drugs, sex

“I don’t know whether the allegations are true or whether they infected the decision making, but it’s incumbent upon me to raise these issues,’’ said Gerry Weber, a civil rights attorney who is readying an appeal in a case that Camp ruled on in June.

Camp, a Vietnam War veteran who was appointed by President Reagan, built a reputation for handing out stiff sentences, including for drug convictions. He could face years behind bars on drug and gun charges. The judge’s lawyer has said he intends to plead not guilty.

The stripper, who has a felony drug trafficking conviction, had been secretly working with the FBI since the spring to build a case against the judge. In exchange, prosecutors pledged not to charge her.

Camp’s relationship with the dancer, who was not identified in court documents, began earlier this year. A day after receiving his first dance, he returned to the Goldrush Showbar for more dances, and added sex and cocaine to his tab, authorities said.

Over the next few months, the two used cocaine and other drugs together, sometimes at the strip club, and the judge would pay $40 to $50 to join her getting high, according to a sworn statement.

In June, the judge followed the stripper to a house in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta to buy drugs, carrying a semiautomatic handgun with him he later told her he brought to protect her, the affidavit said.

The relationship was exposed Friday. The dancer asked Camp to follow her to the Publix grocery store parking lot in northeast Atlanta to meet a drug dealer.

Camp, who is married with two grown children, then allegedly gave the stripper $160 to buy the drugs from an undercover officer. When the agent, posing as a dealer, told Camp he had given the two a few extra pills, the judge sounded pleased. “We’ll call you again,’’ the judge allegedly said.

FBI agents swarmed the judge’s car about 10 minutes later when he drove to the Velvet Room night club. They recovered the plastic bag containing blue pills and a white substance, along with two guns from his front seat.

Not only has the case shocked the legal community, it has created a conflict of interest mess. For Camp’s bail hearing, prosecutors were flown in from Washington and a magistrate traveled from Alabama because local judges recused themselves from the case.

Camp supervised several cases while he was being investigated. It is unclear whether any of the judge’s decisions will be revisited.