Haledon special officer charged in second gas station robbery -

Print | E-mail HALEDON — A former Haledon special police officer, already in jail on charges of robbing a 7-Eleven in Wayne, was charged Monday with robbing a convenience store at the Citgo gas station on Haledon Avenue, police said. Valerio Rodano, 25, who lives in Wayne, told a store clerk that he had a gun in his sweat shirt pocket when he robbed the store at the Citgo on the evening of Nov. 12, George Guzman Jr., a borough police officer, said in a statement. Rodano fled on foot after the store clerk handed over $430, Guzman said. Earlier that same morning, police said, Rodano committed an armed robbery of a 7-Eleven on Valley Road in Wayne. Police have said they recovered a handgun at his home during an investigation of that crime. 

A Haledon police officer, Detective Lt. Chris LeMay, recognized Rodano while watching a video surveillance from the gas station robbery, Guzman said. The suspect was then picked out of a photo lineup by a store clerk, he said. Rodano confessed to robbing the gas station during an interview conducted by borough police at the Passaic County Jail, Guzman said. Deputy Chief Kevin Gottheiner praised his patrol officers and detectives for solving the case, saying they had done “an exceptional job.” 

Rodano resigned from his job as a part-time Class II special police officer with the Haledon police in 2009, Guzman said. Class II officers are allowed to carry guns while on the job. He was charged with first-degree robbery and his bail was set at $250,000, Guzman said

Alabama Sheriff’s Investigator Indicted for Unlawfully Detaining and Assaulting Handcuffed Man at County Jail

U.S. Department of Justice November 22, 2013

WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice announced today that a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama has returned an indictment against J. Keith McCray, a criminal investigator with the Macon County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office for violating the rights of a man he unlawfully seized and assaulted.
McCray, 41, is charged with two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of witness tampering. On July 4, 2013, the victim was going door-to-door in McCray’s neighborhood attempting to sell alarm systems. According to the indictment, McCray unlawfully seized the victim using a firearm and then brought the victim to the county jail. The indictment alleges that at the jail, McCray struck the victim while he was handcuffed, which resulted in bodily injury. The indictment further alleges that McCray engaged in witness tampering when he intimidated the victim and corruptly persuaded him not to file a complaint for the assault.
If convicted, McCray could face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each deprivation of rights count. He could face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the witness tampering charge.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerusha T. Adams of the Middle District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Chiraag Bains of the department’s Civil Rights Division.

cop gets 12 years for forcible sodomy

A former Garden Grove police officer was sentenced Friday to 12 years in state prison for forcibly sodomizing three women.

Jesse Andrew Green, 36, of Huntington Beach was found guilty Sept. 6 of three counts of forcible sodomy, but a jury was not able to reach a verdict on one count of rape, according to a statement from the Orange County district attorney's office.

The defendant was reported to have dated the three women from April 2006 to November 2009 while working for the Garden Grove and Calexico police departments.

Prosecutors argued that Green became aggressive with the women during what started as consensual sexual encounters.

The defendant made derogatory statements to the victims, such as calling them names, and told them that "he had herpes or AIDS and that he had transmitted the disease to them," according to the statement.

Three of the victims provided statements to the court, one verbally and two in writing.

The women stated that they trusted Green because he was an officer and appeared to be nice, but realized that he had betrayed them, according to the district attorney office's.

The three women, who did not know each other, filed charges against Green in October 2010. A fourth victim claimed that she had been raped by the defendant in 1998.

All the victims were hesitant to come forward sooner because they feared Green would use his status as a police officer to retaliate against them, according to the statement.

Green must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Cop gets 40 years in drug trafficking case

An Indianapolis man who formerly worked as a police officer has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for using police credentials and firearms to protect illegal drug shipments.

John Smith, 56, was found guilty in June of conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, two counts of attempting to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, two counts of possessing firearms in furtherance of a federal drug trafficking crime and transferring firearms knowing that they would be used in a drug trafficking crime.

U.S. Attorney David Capp announced Smith’s sentence on Friday in Hammond.

Smith had previously served as an officer with three different Indiana police departments: Brooklyn, Knightstown and Stinesville.

The former officer was no longer involved in police work when caught participating in the illegal activities, authorities said in a statement, but Smith illegally used police credentials from his past employment when he carried out drug transactions.

Terry Carlyle, a former Brooklyn marshal and Indianapolis Police Department officer, was a co-conspirator with Smith, according to a release. Carlyle, who cooperated with the government, was sentenced in September to 10 years in prison.

“We will continue to investigate public corruption, including police corruption,” Capp said in a prepared statement, “and will vigorously prosecute and, upon conviction, seek substantial sentences for officers, current or former, who abuse the public trust.”

Federal authorities worked with local police agencies to investigate and arrest Smith, according to the release.

TROOPER ACCUSED OF RAMMING FELLOW COP’S CRUISER

State police said one of its own off-duty troopers was likely drunk and under the influence of drugs when he crashed into a marked cruiser on Route 1 south in Revere early this morning, injuring his brother in blue and the Chelsea man a fellow trooper was in the process of writing a ticket for.

Trooper Shawn D’Amato, 43 — who received the department’s Medal of Valor award in 2002 for apprehending a drug suspect armed with a stun gun — was arrested at the scene and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries state police said he suffered in the chain-reaction crash shortly after 12:30 a.m.

D’Amato could be arraigned in Chelsea District Court as early as this afternoon on charges of drunken driving, operating under the influence of drugs, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and failure to change lines for an emergency vehicle provided “his medical condition allows,” police said.

D’Amato was at the wheel of a 2013 Toyota Corolla when he struck Trooper John Phonesavanh’s 2006 Ford Crown Victoria in the breakdown lane of Route 1 just south of Route 16, police said.

Police said the Crown Vic’s lights were activated and Phonesavanh was seated issuing a citation to a 29-year-old Chelsea man, whose 2002 Honda Accord he’d pulled over for motor vehicle violations.

Phonesavanh, who is assigned to the Revere Barracks, called in the crash himself, police said.

D’Amato was released of duty and his service weapon this morning. He will be subject to an internal duty status hearing later this week. D’Amato has been with state police since 1994 and is assigned to Troop F at Logan International Airport.

In addition to the Medal of Valor, D’Amato was bestowed a life-saving award by state police in 2006 for performing CPR on a woman in respiratory distress at a Logan parking garage.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights, Bank Fraud, and Aggravated Identity Theft Violations

 

WASHINGTON—Former Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Hebert, 48, pled guilty today to one civil rights violation, five bank fraud violations, and one aggravated identity theft violation, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Anderson of the FBI New Orleans Field Office, and Sheriff Newell Normand from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
According to the plea agreement and other documents, Hebert engaged in a scheme to defraud J.P. Morgan Chase Bank (Chase Bank) from August 2, 2007 through November 21, 2007. The scheme began when Hebert, in his capacity as a Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputy, responded to an automobile accident involving Albert Bloch and stole Bloch’s VISA debit card, as well as other items. While Bloch was hospitalized following the accident, Hebert used that debit card to make unauthorized purchases of merchandise, including two Global Positioning System units and to withdraw funds from Bloch’s Chase Bank account via automated teller machines (ATMs). After Chase Bank cancelled the debit card due to Bloch filing a dispute with the bank, Hebert continued his scheme to defraud by negotiating and attempting to negotiate forged checks drawn from Bloch’s account. Hebert then obtained the replacement debit card sent to Bloch and used that card to make further unauthorized transactions at Chase Bank ATMs. Bloch has not been seen since 2007.
By pleading guilty, Hebert admitted that he violated Bloch’s civil rights when he responded in his official capacity to Bloch’s automobile accident and unreasonably seized and converted Bloch’s property, including funds that Bloch had on deposit with Chase Bank. Hebert also admitted that on at least five occasions, he executed his bank fraud scheme against Chase Bank by unlawfully using Bloch’s original ATM card, replacement ATM card, and Chase Bank checks. In addition, Hebert admitted that on at least one occasion he used Bloch’s driver’s license number and Social Security number in order to execute his bank fraud scheme and thereby committed aggravated identity theft.
“When the defendant officer responded to an automobile accident and stole the victim’s credit cards and used them to commit fraud, he violated not only the law but the core law enforcement values of trust and respect for civil rights,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will continue to work with our partners in the U.S. Attorney Offices and FBI to ensure that civil rights violations are identified and where appropriate prosecuted.”
“Mark Hebert’s guilty plea occurred as a result of the successful collaboration of local and state law enforcement agencies in our continued fight to eradicate corruption in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite for the Eastern District of Louisiana. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners are delivering the same message in a unified voice: we will not tolerate abuse of power and official position. If you violate the public trust in southeast Louisiana, you will be held accountable.”
“In as much as I am very disappointed in the behavior of former JPSO officer Mark Hebert as outlined in his guilty plea today, I am extremely proud of the persistence of my criminal investigators and the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this investigation,” stated Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand. “My office will not tolerate any form of corruption.”
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled before the Honorable Jane Triche-Milazzo on March 24, 2014. For each of the five counts of bank fraud, Hebert faces a maximum statutory sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. For the count of aggravated identity theft, Hebert faces a maximum statutory sentence of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. For the count charging a civil rights violation, Hebert faces a maximum statutory penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
The investigation of this matter was conducted by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Detective’s Bureau and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Sanders, and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Shan Patel.