WHEN IN RUM: State Trooper Titus Taggart, an 18-year veteran who‘s been suspended from the force, in one of his suggestive snaps involving liquor and ladies. (
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A party-loving state trooper was suspended from the force yesterday for promoting wild hooker soirees, sources said.
Titus Taggart, an 18-year veteran, allegedly participated in hosting bashes that involved “the promotion of prostitution” while off duty, the State Police said.
The flashy Taggart — who posted numerous pictures on his Facebook page of himself posing with booze bottles and suggestively clad women — has been suspended without pay from his post at Troop T in Buffalo while the probe goes on.
Taggart spent his off hours working as a party promoter, and threw parties featuring booze and “loose girls,” the Buffalo News reported.
It is not yet known exactly how “loose” the women at the parties really were. But a source told The Post that investigators are looking into at least one bash that took place at a Buffalo-area biker bar that may have featured prostitution.
Some of the hookers involved in the parties may have been brought to the Buffalo area from Canada, according to the paper.
The possibility that the hooker high jinks crossed international borders has prompted federal officials to join in the probe, which began last December.
‘’[The probe has been] going on for several months,” a source close to the State Police told The Post. “The investigation’s is about Taggart’s work as a party promoter on the side. He was suspended because he promoted a party last year at which prostitution apparently took place. [The] question is the degree of his involvement, if any.”
Two other troopers, Jeremy Smith, 34, a 10-year veteran and Michael Petritz, 33, on the force for eight years, have also been suspended as a result of the probe. They are accused of “engaging in misconduct, however, were not involved in organizing the parties,” State Police said.
Taggart, 41, who did not return calls for comment yesterday, has not been charged with any crime.
The Buffalo resident, who made a little more than $100,000 last year, has strong family ties to the State Police.
His dad is Arthur L. Taggart, a former State Police colonel who was an assistant to Thomas Constantine, the force’s former superintendent, according to reports.
“He’s got that big fancy car,” said a college student who lives at one of two properties Taggart owns in Buffalo. “It’s a silver Mitsubishi SUV with huge platinum rims. He said it’s a player’s car.
“He was talking about his bitches one time and how he’s got so many.”
On his page, Taggart hardly looks like a straight-laced lawman interested only in stopping speeders and keeping order.
He is seen partying like a frat boy, complete with bottles of rum, gangster-style suits and sexy women.
Additional reporting by Erik Kriss and Todd Venezia