Miami, Florida: Two police officers were arrested in the
first-ever federal case of identity theft and tax-refund fraud involving South
Florida law enforcement. They are accused of stealing people’s identities from police
databases and using the information to file fraudulent tax returns with the
IRS. ow.ly/iw4zb
Bethel Township, Delaware: A former police officer is
accused of stealing thousands from a little league. He allegedly used his
position as the treasurer of the league to steal $13,000. ow.ly/ioPpK
Morehouse Parish, Louisiana: An officer has been arrested on
one count of theft and one count of conspiracy. He has resigned from the force.
http://ow.ly/ioKKF
Miami County, Ohio: An officer pleaded not guilty to fifth-degree
felony charges that occurred while he was on-duty. He allegedly stole a digital
camera from the Sheriff’s office, as well as trash bags and paper reams. If
convicted, he faces a year in prison, fines, and restitution. He has been
fired. http://ow.ly/ioMgM
Update: Milwaukee, Wisconsin: A police officer has been
fired after his conviction. While responding to a burglary call he stole cash
from the register of a convenience store. ow.ly/io8My
Newbern, Tennessee: The police department said that it fired
one police officer for reportedly falsifying time sheet documents. “The police
department is tasked with protecting the citizens from dishonest people and
from thieves, so when something like this goes on inside the police department,
that’s dishonest and replicates a theft of city money and of taxpayer’s money,
we simply can’t tolerate it,” said the investigator. http://ow.ly/ijPEo
St. Louis County, Missouri: A police officer is facing a
stealing charge. He has been accused of reporting overtime hours that he did
not actually work. He has since resigned from the police department.
http://ow.ly/ijQHY
North Forest ISD, Texas: An officer who allegedly conspired
to steal $10,000 from a group has now also been accused of robbing a home at
gunpoint, while fully dressed as an officer. http://ow.ly/ijRLi
Carthage, Texas: The sheriff has been arrested in a public
corruption investigation involving alleged theft, abuse of power and fraud.
Texas Rangers and the FBI arrested the sheriff, who took office in January. He
faces charges of tampering with a government record, defraud/harm, abuse of
official capacity, and theft by a public servant. He’s free on $50,000 bond.
http://ow.ly/iboNq
Franklin County, Kansas: The sheriff has been charged with
felony counts of official misconduct and making a false report. The official
misconduct charge alleges he unlawfully used “confidential information acquired
in the course of” his duties for “the private benefit or gain” of himself or
another public employee. ow.ly/ibuNT
Cop
sentenced to a year of probation
EASTPOINTE — a former Eastpointe police detective who was
accused of selling items from forfeiture for personal gain was sentenced to one
year of probation in Macomb County Circuit Court Feb. 26.Timothy Stopczynski,
41, resigned from the Eastpointe Police Department in September 2012 amidst the
internal investigation into his professional conduct that resulted in two
felony charges — one count of misconduct in office and one count of embezzlement
by a trustee, which was later dropped.
Defense attorney Fred Gibson explained that the embezzlement
charge was dropped during plea discussions with the prosecutor under a Cobbs
agreement, which specified that, if the sentencing judge did not agree,
Stopczynski could withdraw the plea deal.Macomb County Circuit Court Judge
Antonio Viviano stressed the seriousness of Stopczynski’s actions but agreed
with the plea deal and issued the one-year probation sentence under state
guidelines for the sole misconduct offense.
“Michigan has sentencing guidelines based on a point system,
in which multiple factors are considered to offer guidelines for sentencing,”
Gibson said.“In this incident — the misconduct charge and the fact that he had
no prior criminal history — the points were zero to six months, meaning a
sentencing guideline of probation, which is what he received, up to six months
in jail.”
Stopczynski will have to follow standard probation
guidelines and requirements, including but not limited to random drug testing,
no contact with criminals and no possession of weapons. As a result of the
felony charge, he is not eligible under the Michigan Commission on Law
Enforcement Standards to resume his career in law enforcement.
Stopczynski had been with the department for 14 years when
the allegations of misconduct arose. Despite the charges, many say he was a
good cop.
“By all means, before this happened, he was a good,
hardworking cop. He received many commendations and accolades in his time
here,” said Eastpointe City Manager Steve Duchane.
“I don’t feel bad. He shouldn’t have done what he did. But
when you watch 14 years of someone’s career disintegrate, especially when he is
still young enough to live a long time with this burden on him, it doesn’t feel
good, either.”
While Stopczynski did express remorse in court, his actions
could potentially have lasting effects on the department.
A Royal Oak attorney is threatening a civil suit against the
City of Eastpointe that stems from the charges against Stopczynski.
James Lawrence alleges that Stopczynski took items during a
raid on his client’s home that were not declared in the report against his
client and that other members of the Eastpointe Police Department have worked
to cover up improper actions by Stopczynski and other officers on the night of
the raid.
According to Lawrence, in May 2012, the Eastpointe Police
Department raided a Harrison Township home, taking multiple items into
evidence, threatening the occupants of the home and arresting his client, John Klein,
on two drug charges — possession with intent to distribute marijuana and
operating a drug house.
Stopczynski was in charge of the raid and the charges
against Klein were dropped. Lawrence claims that, despite requests, the seized
items were never returned to Klein, and that during and following the raid,
multiple officers handled the situation inappropriately.
“I’m going to be filing a civil lawsuit against the City of
Eastpointe in federal court,” Lawrence said. “We are asking for three times the
value of the property taken and we are suing for damages to the teenage son and
wife of my client.”
The Eastsider obtained a copy of the return and tabulation
form, or list of items seized during the May 2 raid. Items listed include two
vehicles, multiple jade figurines, nine cellphones, marijuana, marijuana
paraphernalia and $401.
The document includes the signatures of Klein, Stopczynski
and Stopczynski’s partner, who also resigned during the misconduct
investigation. Lawrence claims that the document is not accurate and that the
two officers took much more than what is listed. He also claims that the
department refuses to return the items.
“The suspect signed recognizing the amount of money and
property seized; his signature indicates that that is all the officers took
during the seizure,” Duchane said in response to the allegations. “We told them
to come on in and pick up their stuff.”
According to emails obtained by the Eastsider, the city has
maintained the availability of seized items in emails to Lawrence. In an email
to Lawrence dated Jan. 7, city attorney Rich Albright wrote: “Your clients may
retrieve the two (2) subject motor vehicles upon payment of the impound costs.
As of January 3, 2013, the costs totaled $3,114.00 per vehicle. You are also
welcome to schedule an appointment to go through the inventory on hand and
retrieve any cellphones that are the property of your clients.”
Lawrence said one of his main concerns with the department
is highlighted in Albright’s email. “Even Detroit is better than Eastpointe,”
he said. “They have all this evidence just thrown into a big pile; even in
Detroit, they box evidence and seized items by case. They have to show a chain
of evidence.”
According to acting Police Chief Scott Bourgeois, claims to
retrieve seized items must be submitted within 20 days, or they are moved to
forfeiture storage to eventually be sold at police auctions.
There has not been a police auction in the city in some
time. At press time, the date of the last auction could not be confirmed; however,
Duchane confirmed that there hasn’t been one since he became city manager in
fall 2011. Therefore, all of Klein’s property should be in the department’s
forfeiture storage shed.
Fmr.
Phila. officer charged with loan sharking
PHILADELPHIA - March 8, 2013 (WPVI) -- A former Philadelphia
police officer is facing loan sharking charges. 46-year-old Gary Cottrell was
arrested Friday morning. He is accused of making high interest loans and at
times using force to try and collect the money.