The federal jury trial of a former DEA agent charged with bribery and participating in a drug-trafficking conspiracy will begin March 30, according to an order filed in federal court in Little Rock.
Nathan Charles Wood Koen, 43, a former supervisor in the Drug Enforcement Administration's Little Rock field office, was indicted last month. The indictment alleges that on Dec. 4, 2018, he accepted a $9,000 cash bribe from a large-scale drug supplier from Mexico in return for providing sensitive law enforcement information to aid a drug trafficking organization.
Koen was arrested upon arriving that night at the Little Rock airport on a flight from Las Vegas, where FBI agents said they watched him take the bribe from the drug trafficker, Francisco Benitez, earlier in the day.
Koen remained in custody, held on a criminal complaint, until Nov. 10, just before he was formally indicted. A magistrate judge released him to family members in Illinois on conditions including home detention with electronic monitoring.
A trial was initially set for this week, but was postponed at the request of defense attorney Blake Hendrix of Little Rock, who cited a need for more time to prepare. Hendrix has said there is no proof that Koen actually provided Benitez with any inside information.
Federal prosecutors maintain they have strong proof to support both charges.
Koen became the subject of an investigation after Benitez told federal agents who were investigating him over drug distribution charges in California, Arkansas and Florida that Koen, who was previously based in Florida, was helping him in exchange for bribe money.
Metro on 12/26/2019