cops
in Kensett are accused of stealing someone's pet deer.
KENSETT, Arkansas — Court
records show that two suspended cops in Kensett are accused of stealing
someone's pet deer.
Authorities were initially
tight-lipped about the allegations against Sgt. Debra Bailey and Cop Derek
Balentine. The Daily Citizen (http://bit.ly/14FbeyU ) obtained details of the
criminal charges through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Bailey is charged with theft of
lost property, conspiracy and solicitation. Balentine is charged with
conspiracy.
According to an affidavit, the
deer's owner discovered it missing in September. The affidavit says Bailey took
the deer because it was following people around in Kensett.
Court records allege that
Bailey gave the deer to Balentine's parents even though the owner wanted it
back.
The affidavit says Bailey
apologized for not following procedure but said she was looking out for the
deer's best interest.
Harford County, Maryland: A
sheriff’s deputy was arrested and suspended without pay for allegedly giving a
towing company privileged information about people whose cars were subject to
being repossessed and then being paid for the information. “Police are
empowered with specific tools and resources to do their job effectively. Misuse
of those resources is not only unethical, it is illegal,” said the sheriff.
ow.ly/kcMSg
Edwardsville, Illinois: The
police chief pleaded guilty to federal charges and admitted stealing roughly
$138,000 from the city. He took cash and money orders from a department lock
box that contained vehicle impound fees. “I am disgusted and saddened when
called upon to prosecute someone who had sworn to uphold the law,” said a U.S.
attorney. ow.ly/kccVV
Denver, Colorado: An officer
has resigned. He has been accused of working another job while simultaneously
collecting workers compensation payments. ow.ly/kbDKi
Newark, New Jersey: A 17-year
veteran was indicted this morning on charges he set his SUV on fire and then
filed a fraudulent insurance claim. If convicted of the charges, he faces up to
10 years in prison on each charge. ow.ly/kaeSQ
Price, Utah: A police officer
has been sentenced to jail for defrauding his car insurance company. In
addition to jail, he gets three years’ probation and must pay $22,000 in
restitution. He pleaded guilty in the case. ow.ly/k9uWr
Streetsboro, Ohio: A police
officer was arrested for felony theft. Detectives say they determined that he
was involved in the theft of $16,480.59 from Lowe’s. ow.ly/k7CDc
Des Plaines, Illinois: Thirteen
police officers were suspended after allegations surfaced that they
intentionally misrepresented their work hours to receive overtime from federal
grant funding. Suspensions will range from 7 to 60 days, and some officers will
be ordered to make restitution ranging from $184 to $787. ow.ly/k7yIr
Sallisaw, Oklahoma: The police
chief has been jailed for borrowing public money for his own use and is being
held on a felony embezzlement complaint. He is still currently the police
chief. ow.ly/k51y8
Update: Tempe, Arizona (First
reported 09-01-12): A former police officer arrested for theft has pleaded
guilty in the case. He was arrested after several items of police property went
missing and money was taken from a lockbox. He resigned following the arrest.
ow.ly/k5yGk
West Valley, Utah: Narcotics
officers stole money and other items from vehicles they seized and may have
taken drugs and money confiscated during arrests, an internal audit found. The
findings will be shared with the FBI and the Salt Lake County District
Attorney’s office to be used in their respective investigations. ow.ly/k4BV7
Montgomery, Alabama: The police
department has charged a police corporal with theft after a fellow officer observed
him taking $20 in cash from the personal effects of a suicide victim whose
property was being held by the department. ow.ly/k3ujL
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: A
police officer is accused of altering the prices on items at a retail store and
trying to purchase those products at a discount. He has been with the police
department for 25 years and is currently on paid leave. ow.ly/jYXS2
Irwindale, California: A police
officer pleaded not guilty to grand theft, second-degree burglary, and elder
abuse for allegedly stealing $250,000 in cash that was hidden in his father’s
detached garage. ow.ly/jY82Q
Update: Newark, New Jersey
(First reported: 06-11-12): A police officer was sentenced to 48 months in prison
for his role in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, two courts of
loan application fraud and bank bribery. He conspired to defraud a bank by
providing false statements and documents so he could secure a $1.92 million
loan. ow.ly/jY32G
Cop
Charged in Tax Fraud Scheme
Federal authorities charged a
New York City cop with filing more than a dozen fraudulent tax returns for himself
and others, including many in which children were falsely claimed as
dependents, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Thursday in
Manhattan.
The cop, Jonathan Wally, 33,
kept a list of names and Social Security numbers of at least 52 children born
in 2007, the complaint said. The list was stored in a Bronx office where he had
been improperly moonlighting as a tax preparer without authorization from the
Police Department, the authorities said.
As a result of false returns
filed by Cop Wally from 2010 to 2012, the complaint said, the I.R.S. paid
refunds of about $120,000.
Since 2008, when Cop Wally
received a tax preparer number from the I.R.S., he had used 9 of the names on
13 people’s tax returns, the complaint said. All of the children have Puerto
Rican Social Security numbers.
“Individuals with Puerto Rican
Social Security numbers who reside in Puerto Rico are not required to file tax
returns with the I.R.S.,” Robert D. Beranger, a criminal investigator with the
agency, wrote in the complaint. “Puerto Rican Social Security numbers are often
used by individuals who commit tax offenses similar to the offenses Wally is
charged with committing.”
Cop Wally was arrested on
Thursday and suspended from the department pending results of the case, the police
said.
Messages left for Cop Wally’s
lawyer were not immediately returned.
A 10-year veteran of the
department based in the 34th Precinct, Cop Wally told at least two people that
they would get bigger refunds if they claimed a dependent and that he would
furnish a name for their return, according to the complaint. In at least four
cases, he added a dependent to returns without the knowledge of those for whom
he was preparing the documents, the complaint said.
The complaint said Cop Wally
had skimmed from the returns of his clients, which number in the hundreds, and
also added a false dependent to his own returns.
And, the authorities said, he
did not declare the income he made from preparing all these returns: more than
$112,652 over three years.