HEADLINE: State troopers arrest Delhi police chief _ again

Link to Article

DELHI, La. -- Police Chief Gregg McKinney has been arrested on additional charges in an ongoing investigation of a fire that gutted his office and the department's evidence room.

McKinney was arrested around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday at his home without incident, said Trooper Julie Lewis, a spokeswoman for Louisiana State Police Troop F. He was booked with five counts of obstruction of justice, one count of theft of fine monies, and two counts of malfeasance in office. Bond was set at $45,000.

McKinney was charged Aug. 12 with one count of aggravated arson, one count of obstruction of justice and one count of malfeasance in office after state police began investigating a July 30 fire at his office.

At the time, McKinney said he had been painting his office and apparently left a candle burning. Richland Parish Sheriff Charles McDonald requested the investigation following the fire.

Prior to the fire, citizens of Delhi were circulating a petition to have McKinney removed from office, saying he targeted black motorists.

Lewis said a full report of the detective's findings would be filed with the District Attorney's Office within the next few weeks. Until then, the evidence behind the charges can't be revealed to the public, she said.
___

Information from: The News-Star

HEADLINE:

SECTION: State and Regional

DATELINE: DETROIT

A former federal Homeland Security employee who faces sentencing this month on embezzlement charges stole money, jewelry and at least $308,000 in cash from immigration detainees at the Monroe County jail, officials say.

Patrick Wynne, 33, of Milan was charged last year and accused of carrying out thefts over four years while he worked for the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement section and its predecessor, the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The Homeland Security Department plans to spend $158,000 to ship property back to the more than 1,300 immigrants from whom Wynne stole, The Detroit News said.

Stolen property included jewelry, clothing, suitcases, family photos and religious items. The $308,000 was taken from 489 detainees. Two FBI investigators spent months to determine what was taken.

Wynne pleaded guilty July 26 before Detroit U.S. District Judge Julian Cook and faces sentencing Dec. 19. He is to receive up to four years, nine months in prison and a $250,000 fine under a plea agreement with prosecutors, the Detroit Free Press has reported.

"People have a basic cultural expectation that government agents do not steal," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Judge. Those from whom Wynne stole were "the perfect victims ... and for many, the losses were devastating."

The case came to light after immigrants began complaining when they could not get their property back after they were released from the jail.

Between 2000 and 2004, Wynne worked as a detention enforcement officer and immigration enforcement agent and was the property officer at the jail.

   ---

Information from: The Detroit News

SECTION: CAPITAL REGION; Pg. B1

HEADLINE: Secret recordings tie police inspector to theft

BYLINE: MIKE GOODWIN Staff Writer

Richard Vore, cited for heroism in fatal house fire in September, was taped by sheriff
during investigation

SCHENECTADY - Inspector Richard Vore admitted taking money from an evidence safe but vehemently denied taking a missing earring, according to secret recordings made by Schenectady County Sheriff Harry Buffardi before arresting Vore on theft and misconduct counts.

"I didn't take no earring," Vore can be heard saying on the recordings shortly before Buffardi arrested him Thursday.

The sheriff then asked Vore about taking $133.27 that disappeared from the safe on Nov. 11. Vore can be heard seemingly freely admitting he took it.

"Yeah, but I replaced it back to you," Vore said.

Buffardi made several recordings of conversations with Vore as his investigation unfolded into the alleged pilfering of the cash and a tiny diamond earring worth about $60. Buffardi played the recordings for the Times Union on Friday.

Vore was dismissed from the department after Buffardi charged him with official misconduct and petit larceny. After a 27-year career in law enforcement, including the last two as Buffardi's head of internal affairs, Vore faces up to a year in jail.

This fall, Vore, 50, earned praise for trying to save two young children from a burning home on Strong Street. Vore collapsed from smoke fumes and was unable to save the children.

Vore declined to comment when reached at home Friday. His attorney, Cheryl Coleman, accused Buffardi of conducting a "trial by media."

Of Vore, she said, "He's a hero and a decent man caught up in a web of politics and discarded.

"In attempting to bring shame upon my client, his accusers will ultimately shame themselves," she said.

On one of the tapes, Vore can be heard telling Buffardi he owed about $1,000 to a bookie for bets on football games and agreed to enroll in a treatment program.

But authorities are unsure if the gambling admission was true or simply an excuse for taking the money. Coleman denied Vore bet on anything beside the occasional horse race or slot machine. "He's gone to the racetrack and the racino, but he does not have a gambling problem or any kind of illegal gambling problem," she said.

The money was allegedly taken from a safe Buffardi set aside last year to hold $129,000 confiscated in connection with an investigation of $210,000 that Kevin Skoog, an electrician, found hidden in a wall as he wired the basement of a Stockade home.

Authorities eventually arrested Skoog after the building's owner, Michael Casadei, said he had tucked the money away for safekeeping. Skoog was charged with possession of stolen property, and authorities seized the $129,000 that remained.

After the charges against Skoog were dropped because prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to try him, Buffardi moved the money into a bank account where it remains while Skoog and Casadei vie for it in civil court. All that remained in the locker were $133.27, a cellphone, keys, a wallet and two diamond earrings that were taken from Skoog when he was arrested.

Buffardi claims Vore convinced another guard to open the safe for him by claiming he needed to get the keys for a tow truck company.

The sheriff said he used his own ruse on Vore when he confronted him about the theft on Nov. 23. Buffardi suggested the case could quietly go away if Vore returned the money.

"I got it right here in my pocket," Vore said, according to a recording of that day's conversation.

Buffardi told Vore he needed to keep the incident quiet, telling no one but his wife.

"It will never happen again," Vore said. "Anything you need to do, or you want to suspend me, I'll take it."

Later, Vore said, "Like I told you before, I didn't want (one) day to be the hero and the next day the town thief."

Eight days later, Buffardi arrested him.

Mike Goodwin can be reached at 454-5465 or by e-mail at mgoodwin@timesunion.com.

GRAPHIC: Photo
 Vore

SECTION: NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

HEADLINE: Springdale Ex-chief sells guns on last day; inquiry ongoing

BYLINE: BY MICHELLE BRADFORD ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

On his last day at work, former Springdale Police Chief Sid Rieff sold handguns being held by police for safekeeping and deposited the money in the department's benevolent fund.

Interim Police Chief Rick Hoyt said detectives are investigating whether the July 29 transaction was legal and proper. So far, detectives know that the police property officer failed to document when Rieff removed the guns from a police locker, Hoyt said.

Records show that Rieff sold five of the six guns in question to a Springdale pawn shop. However, Rieff hasn't been able to produce documentation that he sold the sixth weapon, Hoyt said.

"Our investigators want to know exactly what transpired with these guns," Hoyt said Thursday. "We want to know the exact manner in which they left the department. As far as how the guns were sold, it doesn't look like any policy was violated. But were laws broken? I don't know yet." Rieff, 59, retired in July while under investigation for other matters. A law firm hired by the city determined that Rieff used racial slurs and distributed sexually explicit material on the job. Rieff referred a call Friday to his attorney, John Everett.

"Sid Rieff is kinda getting like the sick chicken in the chicken pen," Everett said. "Pecked to death. Everything he did with those guns was proper. If the police department wants to investigate, hell, they can have at it." Springdale police took possession of the guns after owner Jay Melekian died April 13, a police report shows. Melekian, 48, a Springdale police dispatcher, died of natural causes at his home.

Bernard Melekian donated five of the guns belonging to his late brother to the police benevolent fund. Bernard Melekian donated a sixth gun, a Russian pistol, to police officer Drew Deason, according to an April 20 memo.

Deason filed a theft report Tuesday with Springdale police saying the Russian Makarov that Rieff sold to C&S Pawn Shop on July 29 wasn't his to sell.

Springdale has since paid Deason $109 for the pistol, the amount the pawn shop paid Rieff, according to a receipt. But Deason, who resigned Nov. 8, still wants an investigation.

"It's a moral issue and a legal issue," Deason said Friday. "Besides that, it 's my understanding those guns should have been auctioned, not pawned." State law dictates how guns that police seize as evidence must be sold or disposed of, Hoyt said. Police held the Melekian guns for safekeeping, and they're unlikely to fall into the category of seized evidence, he said.

Hoyt said police property/evidence technician Larry Fiedorowich should have documented when Rieff removed the guns from a locker. 

Fiedorowich couldn't be reached by phone Friday. He resigned Nov. 17.

A July 29 receipt from the pawn shop shows Rieff sold five of the guns for $600. That day, he deposited $600, plus $170, in the police benevolent fund, a receipt by City Clerk Denise Pearce shows.

Rieff has told police that the $170 represents the sale of the sixth gun - a Colt .45-caliber pistol, Hoyt said. Rieff said he sold the gun weeks before he sold the other five to the pawn shop.

Detectives believe that the gun is worth $400 to $600, Hoyt said.

"[Rieff ] said he sold that gun to a friend of Jay Melekian whose name he can't remember," Hoyt said.

"There are no records, and he said he didn't write anything down." Part of the investigation is to determine the market value of each gun. Police have photos of the guns.

When the investigation is complete, police will forward the findings to Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Terry Jones. He'll determine what action, if any, to take, Hoyt said.

Jones was preparing for an unrelated trial Thursday, a secretary said. He didn't return a call seeking comment.

To contact this reporter: mbradford@arkansasonline.com

HEADLINE: Red Springs police find missing evidence

BYLINE: Venita Jenkins Staff writer

Link to Article

RED SPRINGS - Red Springs police found missing evidence last week in a personal locker in the evidence room.

The envelopes that were found appeared to be the evidence that SBI agents and the District Attorney's Office have been looking for since the fall, Police Chief Lum Edwards said.

The District Attorney's Office and the State Bureau of Investigation were notified when the items were found, and the evidence was turned over to agents Dec. 7.

The SBI began an investigation in October after evidence from a murder trial and seized drugs were discovered missing from the Police Department's evidence room.

District Attorney Johnson Britt asked for the investigation after the state agreed to a lesser sentence in a capital murder case in September. The state did not have evidence to prosecute the case. Photos and shell casings from the rifle used in the shooting were misplaced, he said.

Drugs seized by an SBI agent nearly three years ago also were missing from the evidence room. An SBI agent visited Red Springs police Sept. 28 to pick up 2 ounces of crack cocaine seized in 2002. The crack cocaine was turned over to a Red Springs police officer who had helped with the investigation.

"Our investigation is still ongoing,'' said William McKinney, a spokesman with the state Department of Justice.

In September, the SBI conducted an audit of evidence in the evidence room. It matched evidence with items that had been logged in. It was unclear whether personal lockers in the evidence room were searched at that time.

The Red Springs Police Department has changed the way it handles evidence since the incident, Edwards said. One person will be in charge of logging in evidence. If the officer is not available, lawmen will store evidence in one central locker, he said.

Cameras and alarms have been installed in the evidence room.

HEADLINE: Cop faces trial for trading drugs for tips

BYLINE: Paul Janczewski pjanczewski@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6333

Link to Article

FLINT - A former Flint police officer will stand trial on charges of giving heroin and money to a prostitute in exchange for information about drug dealers. 

Joseph T. Lechota, 29, of Flushing faces a Jan. 9 circuit court arraignment on charges of delivering heroin under 50 grams, a 20-year felony; tampering with evidence, a 10-year felony; two counts of larceny from a building, both 4-year felonies; and misconduct in office, a 5-year felony. 

Attorney Michael P. Manley, who represents Lechota, argued that he was a "young, eager" cop who only wanted to "get the bad guys" off the streets. 

But assistant Genesee County Prosecutor Karen Hanson said Lechota was not authorized to deliver money and heroin to the confidential informant. 

During the preliminary examination Monday, two women, both prostitutes who were informants, testified, as did Flint police Lt. Phillip Smith, who heads the Flint police Special Operations bureau. 

Smith said the department heard an allegation that Lechota was giving drugs to one informant. He consulted with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to set up a sting to investigate the allegation. 

One woman told Smith that Lechota promised to provide her with drugs and cash if she could lead him to a large-scale drug dealer. 

"If I helped him, he said he would help me," she said. 

Smith said the other woman was later taken to the Colorado-Olive street area and posed as a neighborhood drug dealer on Sept. 29. 

The woman, who was carrying 61 packets of heroin and $300 Smith had given her from the Flint police evidence room to make the ruse effective, testified Lechota arrested her. 

But Smith said that only $250 and 60 packets were turned in after the "arrest." 

The first woman testified she met Lechota later and he told her cash and drugs could be found under a trash container. 

Smith testified police often give money to informants, but never drugs. He also said that he must authorize giving anything to informants. 

Smith told Manley that he and others in undercover work do let felons go occasionally in hopes of catching a bigger criminal up the line. But he said those are decided on a case-by-case basis. 
After Lechota was arrested, he gave a statement to Smith saying he placed the drugs and cash under a barrel. 

The case against a co-defendant, former Flint Officer Patrick J. Majestic, 36, of Swartz Creek, was adjourned for a Friday pretrial. 

Attorney Frank J. Manley, who represents Majestic, said he has not received all the reports he needs, but that he is still discussing a possible resolution with prosecutors. 

Majestic is charged with two counts of delivery of cocaine less than 50 grams, both 20-year felonies; tampering with evidence; and misconduct in office. 

Both officers had spotless records and were known as hard workers, but were fired shortly after they were charged.

SECTION: State and Regional

HEADLINE: Former town manager given probation in police evidence gun scheme

DATELINE: CEDAR BLUFF, Ala.

A federal judge placed former Cedar Bluff town manager Ricky Steele on three years probation for his part in the sale of guns from a police evidence room.

Steele, 50, pleaded guilty in September to repeatedly denying to the FBI that he knew anything about the illegal removal and disposal of the confiscated guns.

Later, Steele resigned and admitted that he was present when Mayor Bob Davis sold some of the guns to County Commissioner Harold Woodall. He also admitted he had helped to load the guns into Woodall's van and put the money Woodall paid into the town's safe.

Steele, sentenced Thursday, assisted the FBI in its probe of Davis, who resigned in May and died of a heart attack in June.

Woodall resigned from the commission and pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in a fraud involving the county's insurance business. 

Also Thursday, Mary Shaner, former town clerk of Cedar Bluff, was arraigned in federal court on charges that she forged checks on the town's municipal accounts. Her next court appearance will be in January.

---

Information from: The Gadsden Times

SECTION: NEWS; Local Briefs; Pg. 9

HEADLINE: POLICE OPEN TIP LINE

COP A 6-YEAR VETERAN

The officer suspended in connection with the disappearance of crack-cocaine from the Ottawa Police evidence room had been on the force for six years. Const. Kevin Hall, who's in his 30s, is facing two counts of corrupt practice, six counts of discreditable conduct and one count of neglect of duty under the Police Services Act. The charges relate directly to the officer failing to account for and/or removing small amounts of crack cocaine from the evidence control warehouse before it was processed during the course of his duties.

SECTION: Pg. 1

HEADLINE: Audit shows money missing from Sallisaw drug fund

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A state audit of the Sallisaw Police Department shows money missing from its drug fund.

The special audit, released Monday by State Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan, was requested by the Sallisaw Board of Commissioners and covered April 1, 1999, through April 18, 2005.

The man who served as police chief during the time said no money is missing and the numbers should add up.

"Well, I don't understand it," said Gary Philpot, who served six years as police chief. "It was done exactly like it was supposed to be done. All the money is there."

Auditors were unable to determine exactly how much money was missing because of conflicting amounts in drug records, according to the audit.

"However, it appears an amount between $650 and $1,340 in drug fund monies are unaccounted for," the audit said.

The audit also said receipts provided by the former chief were questionable.

"Two receipts of the same number indicated different dates and amounts," the audit said. "One confidential informant provided a statement to the Sallisaw Police Department indicating some of the receipts were falsified."

Auditors were not able to determine whether evidence purchased was placed with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation or the Sallisaw Police Department evidence room.

McMahan said the former chief spent more than $7,000 on evidence. The audit said there were 185 purchases.

Auditors found only one occasion when the evidence was sent to the OSBI or police department evidence room, McMahan said.

"Receipts, when considering receipt number and dates, are out-of-sequence," the audit said.

The former police chief did not record all advances paid by the city, and advances had conflicting amounts, the audit said.

"Itemized expenditures and balance sheets used by the former police chief contain mathematical errors, incorrect receipt amounts and incorrect transfer amounts," the audit said.

Sallisaw Mayor Shannon Vann reviewed the audit and said it confirmed that record keeping was not handled properly.

"I was relieved that it indicated that at least most of the money can be accounted for," he said. "There wasn't a large sum missing. But it reaffirmed the importance that the police department needs to be accountable for its funds like any other entity."

Sequoyah County District Attorney Richard Gray said he may ask the OSBI for additional investigation.

HEADLINE: Ex-ESL Police chief guilty on all charges

BYLINE: GEORGE PAWLACZYK News-Democrat

Link to Article

EAST ST. LOUIS - Former Police Chief Ron Matthews was found guilty Wednesday of perjury and of two obstruction counts after a six-day federal court trial that included allegations of widespread City Hall corruption.

After about three hours of deliberation, jurors found Matthews guilty of all three charges -- perjury, conspiracy to commit obstruction and attempted obstruction of a grand jury investigation.

He was accused of attempting to prevent a firearm from being used as evidence against a friend, and lying to a grand jury.

In his closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith described the case against Matthews, which resulted from an undercover FBI investigation in 2004, as "old-fashioned city hall corruption."

Goldsmith said at the heart of the case was a "scheme to save Dave," a reference to repeated efforts by Matthews to get a .38-caliber revolver out of the police evidence room and back to his friend without raising the suspicion of other officers.

The longtime friend was Ayoub "Dave" Qattoum, a Palestinian shopkeeper who faced deportation because of his arrest in August 2004 for scuffling with a city police officer. Qattoum, who had been assigned as an unpaid auxiliary police officer even though he had a previous felony conviction, was illegally carrying the .38.

And there was an element of greed, said Goldsmith, which drove Matthews' repeated efforts to protect Qattoum. Witnesses testified that the prosperous shopkeeper could always be depended on for a quick, low-interest loan or even an outright cash gift.

Qattoum pleaded guilty to obstruction and testified for the prosecution.

Matthews faces up to 20 years in prison on the most serious conviction -- attempted obstruction -- although he could receive 30 years if all sentences were run consecutively. He declined to comment.

Because he violated the public trust, Goldsmith said Matthews is eligible for an "enhanced" sentence in excess of federal sentencing guidelines, which usually call for much less than a maximum term of imprisonment.

U.S. District Court Judge G. Patrick Murphy set sentencing for March 20 and allowed Matthews to remain free on $20,000 unsecured bail.

"It's a great verdict for the people of East St. Louis," Goldsmith said outside the courtroom.

"They have some very good people in East St. Louis and in the police department. They deserve better," Goldsmith said of Matthews, who stands to lose his pension because of his felony convictions.

"He's disappointed but he's with his family. He's all right," Matthews' court-appointed attorney Stephen Welby said. Welby added that Matthews may appeal.

In his closing argument, Welby countered that federal agents concocted a "sham" immigration probe to cover their true intent of "setting up" Matthews.

Goldsmith said in court that the city's corruption is widespread. He called East St. Louis Councilman Eddie Jackson an unindicted "co-conspirator."

According to trial testimony, Jackson took a $3,000 cash bribe in return for agreeing to give a promotion to a police officer.

But Jackson got "cold feet" and returned the money the same day, according to testimony. Another cop got the job as internal affairs director.

Referring to Jackson's comment on an undercover tape recording that the $3,000 that had just been handed to him was a "campaign contribution," Goldsmith said, "That's outrageous ... It was a bribe."

Jackson has said he will not comment about the trial.

Former city officials Charlie Powell, an ex-councilman, and Kelvin Ellis, the former director of regulatory affairs, also were named "co-conspirators" by Goldsmith.

Powell is free on bail and awaiting sentencing on a vote fraud conviction. He has declined to comment.

Ellis is in federal custody awaiting sentencing on vote fraud and obstruction of justice charges. He was sentenced Monday to 21 months in prison for income tax evasion.

A dozen prosecution witnesses testified, including East St. Louis police officers, undercover operative and former Deputy Police Chief Rudy McIntosh and St. Clair County State's Attorney Robert Haida.

On the witness stand, Haida said that when Matthews called him last year about Qattoum, he withheld key factors involving the store owner's arrest. As a result, Haida testified he did not know of the seriousness of the crime and did not object to it being handled "in house" at the police department.

Contact reporter George Pawlaczyk at gpawlaczyk@bnd.com or 239-2625.