A former Northern
Kentucky police chief accused of using credit cards to steal more than $100,000
from the police department was released from jail Monday.
Former Highland
Heights police chief Carl Mullen, 49, of Fort Thomas was charged with one count
of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, according to a news
release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
The indictment,
filed Thursday, was unsealed Monday morning.
According to the
release and the indictment, Mullen used credit cards issued to police officers
and to the Highland Heights Southgate Police Authority to obtain cash advances
totaling $115,680 over two years.
"Mullen
falsely claimed these funds were for legitimate police investigations,"
the release said.
The police
authority applied for and received 12 credit cards in 2009. The cards were
meant to be used for business expenses.
Three cards were
issued in the name of the police authority, and nine were given to various
police officers. According to the indictment, Mullen obtained cash advances
using the credit cards and instructed a financial officer to pay the balance
from the police authority's budget.
"Mullen
arranged it so that he was the sole person reviewing the bills and verifying
that the expenditures ... were for legitimate expenses," the indictment
said.
Mullen was
released from jail after he appeared in federal court in Covington on Monday
for a detention hearing. He was released on his own recognizance and ordered to
wear an electronic monitor at all times, according to the U.S. Attorney's
office.
His trial was
scheduled for Aug. 22.
The Kentucky
Enquirer reported that Highland Heights Mayor Greg Meyers released a written
statement, saying officials referred the case to the FBI after finding
accounting discrepancies after Mullen's retirement earlier this year. The paper
reported previously that the investigation began in February.
If convicted,
Mullen faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines for wire
fraud, plus a mandatory two years imprisonment on each of the identity theft
counts.