FARGO - A lawyer for Tammy and John Sadek says the couple plans to file a wrongful death suit in the case of their son, Andrew, whose body was found in the Red River in 2014 after he worked as a drug informant in Richland County, N.D.

Attorney Lance Block said Tuesday, May 3, that the suit will seek damages from Richland County and Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Weber, the narcotics officer who recruited 20-year-old Andrew Sadek to work as an informant.

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“The measure of damages in this case is the mental pain and suffering of Tammy and John Sadek, and that is a significant amount of money,” Block said, adding that he expects the suit will be filed sometime this month in either North Dakota or federal court.

Block, a Florida attorney who specializes in cases involving young drug informants, said the suit will accuse Weber of using deceitful tactics to coerce Andrew Sadek to become an informant. Weber, a member of the local drug task force, declined to comment on the potential lawsuit against him.

A video obtained by The Forum last year shows Weber telling Andrew Sadek there was “a good possibility” that he would receive some prison time if he didn’t cooperate with the task force.

“That was just absolutely false information,” Block said. “He was looking at probation, not prison.”

Block said the suit will also allege that Weber poorly managed Andrew Sadek in his time as an informant and did not keep close track of him while he did dangerous work. “In this particular case, Andrew was basically told, ‘Go out and find some drug deals,’ ” Block said.

Richland County Administrator Harris Bailey declined to comment on the allegations. Richland County State's Attorney Ron McBeth said the County Commission has decided to turn the suit over to the North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund, a nonprofit insurance pool for local governments. The fund has not yet appointed an attorney to represent the county, fund CEO Steve Spilde said.

Andrew Sadek was a student at the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton when he was allegedly busted for selling $80 worth of marijuana in April 2013, and he later became an informant to avoid felony charges.

As an informant, Andrew Sadek bought marijuana three times between November 2013 and January 2014. Then he stopped contacting the task force. He had at least two more drug buys left before the threat of charges would go away, authorities said.

He went missing in May 2014. About two months later, his body was found in the Red River near Wahpeton with a gunshot to his head.

His parents, who live in Rogers, N.D., have said they believe their son was murdered, possibly because of his work as an informant. However, autopsy results offered no conclusion on whether someone killed him or whether he killed himself, authorities said.

At the request of the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office, the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation reviewed the task force’s practices and found no wrongdoing.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, along with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and NDSCS police, are investigating Andrew Sadek’s death. But his parents have lost confidence in how state and local authorities are handling the case, and they recently wrote to the FBI asking the bureau to take over the investigation.





Block said the Sadeks have not yet received a response from the bureau. Special Agent Jeffrey Van Nest, an FBI spokesman, declined to comment.