I've got something on my mind that I could surre use your help with. I have chosen to hide my department infomration in fears of him figuring out that I'm on here asking questions and looking for anwers.
One of the guys in the department is stealing funds and we foudn out he has some other charges against him. What would you do or who would you go to to report it? I've been with the department for over 10 years and am afraid of loosing my job or getting in the middle of it because the thief is very good friends with the Deputy Chief and Chief. Who would you go and talk to and how woul dyou handle it? Any advice is appreciated. Also could he get locked away if he's found out? I know he's doing something worng but I don't want to be responsible as he's got four kids to feed. Maybe thats why he's doing what hes' doing. He knows allot of folks and is tied in pretty tight with the different departments. Me and the guys are tryhing to figure out the best approach to resolve this problem.
We have the proof in paperwork. He is in tight with allot of officials. And yes we are worried if the police will turn the other way and protect his sorry ass. Going to the district attorney and state poilce are a good idea. When he's caught we were hopping he'd spend some jail time and get fired cause we don't want to work with him anymore. He s the type that wonce he's found out if he comes back to work and we are at a call would he cover our backs or want us to disappear? Hez only in it for himself. We dont think he even cares about the work anymore just what he can get out of the job meaning stealling money and other things. theres allot more to this story but out of fear dont want to go there.
He is doing a lot wrong , defrauding the dept. theft, extortion but you guys need one thing to make it stick as any of our PD members will tell you ..PROOF..if he is that tight and still doing this so carefree it might go higher than just him and you have a right to be affraid if thats the case cause as a collective (if it goes up the food chain) they will bury you in courts and lawyers ..however if you guys have sound proof on these charges then you have a simple set of options..make detailed notes on all counts..show proof and then aproach a private lawyer on your behalf (costs nothing to consult)...when you get the nod its all good have a meeting and show the offender and tell him to resign before it goes public and you won't press charges..(most times they will bail if given the out..)if they fight it then you have to prosecute and don't be affraid to contact media (helps them from going after you guys)..no matter what I wouldn't tolerate it to any level...anyone turning their back to it is just as guilty you have to know at somepoint if not you the person/persons involved will get caught and the entire dept might get axed if you think not just look at the NYPD when 10 Detectives were caught skimming the entire station was booted cause if one does it they figure all do it
Probable Cause is Probable Cause... "Facts and circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to believe that a crime has been or is about to be committed". If law enforcement has enough to establish probable cause, they shall prepare an affidavit requesting the court charge the suspect with the appropriate crime. Period.
Is your department a public (Read "Supported by municipal funds) agency? If the answer is "yes" and you were here in Connecticut, the person stealing funds would be charged with Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class "C" Felony...
If you are concerned about going to the Chief, are there Commissioners? City Hall?
You mentioned that you are not alone in having first-person knowledge that the thefts are occurring... and you have written proof....
As long as the evidence is first-person and not hearsay.... Sounds like probable cause to me.
I would go up the chain of command first if you feel comfortable doing that... If you are concerned that there might be a chance that department management would bury the complaint, then all of the people with first hand knowledge need to go to the police and file a complaint.
If you are concerned that the police department will punt the complaint, seek out your prosecutor, DA, State's Atty. or whatever the title is in your state. If you receive no satisfaction there, there is always the State Attorney General.
(My paying job is in law enforcement, 26 years)
Here in N.C if you get caught with embezzlement it is a felony offence so the person who took our money can no longer be on any fire dept. As for as going to jail the law figures if you are in jail than you cant pay it back. this person has 5 years to pay it back or they will go to jail. So far they have paid back $40,000, its only been 6 months since this person went to court.
It is not hearsay. We have some documented proof. Just wondering how to go about it and make sure he gets what he deserves no matter if he is a borther or not. It's downright wrong what hes done to the department. Don't want to get to a fire and have him in there with me if somethin goes down. We want him outg and thats what we are gonna do but to be honest its hard when you are in the middle of it all. things will change but im hoping for the better.
Permalink Reply by Pete on March 11, 2009 at 11:30am
huge violation of trust here. Turn him in, if he is friends with locals, look at atty gens office. There just isn't a good reason to do this, none. Good Luck with this!
We are looking at all possible avenues and ones that he's not linked to. Its just a matter of time. Noone gets aways with somethin like this, noone. Not fair to the guys, the dept or the community.
Expose him for who he is, period end of discussion. Live by your morals or crawl back in a whole and ignore what you see and hear and let the crooks run the f@#king place.
That's pretty blantant. Well we are working on it and getting the right angle for it. We are living by our morals. Crawl back into what hole? We are doing what we have to get him out while protecting ourselves. Like to see you in thiss situation and see how you handled it if the shoes were on the other feet. Not an eazy thing to do.