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Common thieves

The Amity Township supervisors have voted to advertise a Police Tenure Act hearing set for this Tuesday for Cpl. Glenn J. Oesterling. A 12-year veteran of the Amity Township Police Department, Oesterling was suspended in July indefinitely without pay. He had been charged with retail theft and receiving stolen property for two June incidents at a Giant Food Store in West Pottsgrove Township. According to court documents, a loss prevention officer at the supermarket saw Oesterling place several items into reusable shopping bags in his cart and then walk out of the store without going through a checkout line.

SAN DIEGO - An unidentified police officer on the force for just over a year and the town's animal control officer using their city issued gas credit card to pump gas. The problem? It was allegedly pumped into their own vehicles."That's not right taking our city tax money away from us," said resident Melissa Leal. San Diego resident Melissa Everett not too happy about those who carry the badge breaking the laws they have sworn to uphold. She's not alone. Melissa Leal feeling much the same. "He's suppossed to be setting an example," said Leal. We went to City Hall to get some answers but police officials, as well as city officials, refused any on camera comment. The Police Chief telling Action 10 News reporter John Rupolo off camera that both the police and the animal control officer have been suspended without pay and that the city's gas credit cards were used several times over the summer.Most residents feel this way about the punishment should the lawmen be found guilty of the charge."If they have evidence of the theft they should be terminated if not they should be allowed to come back to work."

  

NYPD Cop And His Brothers Arrested For Alleged Weapons Smuggling Scheme

A police officer who works at One Police Plaza and his brothers are accused of plotting to smuggle high-powered assault weapons out of the U.S. and sell them in the Philippines. NYPD officer Rex-Gene Maralit was charged with conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act, as were his brothers Wilfredo Maralit, who is a U.S. Customs officer in L.A., and Ariel Maralit, who lives in the Philippines.The alleged plan was to buy weapons via online weapons sites in the U.S., disassemble them and then ship them overseas to Ariel Maralit. According to the federal complaint, they didn't have export licenses or federal firearms licenses—and they used their position in law enforcement to buy the weapons at a discount. 

FORT WORTH (AP) - A North Texas police officer has been fired after being accused of stealing more than $20,000 from a business bank account to pay his personal bills.Fort Worth police Chief Jeff Halstead on Wednesday night announced the dismissal of Officer Lovon Ponder Jr. A disciplinary letter says Ponder, who was hired in October 2011, was indefinitely suspended Aug. 23.Records show Ponder allegedly obtained the routing and account number of a medical supply company after a refund check was mailed to his apartment in a former tenant’s name. An apartment manager became suspicious and contacted police.No charges were immediately filed. An attorney for Ponder didn’t immediately comment.

Two Sweetwater Police Officers, Civilian Employee Suspended

Less than a week after a Sweetwater Police detective was arrested on fraud and identity theft charges, two police officers and a civilian employee were relieved of duty Wednesday, a city spokeswoman said.

Detective Octavio Oliu, Acting Sergeant Reny Garcia and red-light camera reviewer Richard Brenner were relieved of duty with pay, spokeswoman Michelle Hammontree-Garcia said.

The details behind why they were relieved of duty were unknown. Hammontree-Garcia said no other statements would be made. A spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association said she was looking into the details of the suspensions.

In another incident, Oliu and Brenner were named in a lawsuit filed against the city in May by Daniel LaRosa, who was arrested in March 2012 for allegedly making a threat against a Sweetwater officer on Facebook.

LaRosa had been arrested on a charge of corruption by threat against a public servant after he posted a photo to Facebook through the Instagram application labeled "Diary of a Cop Killa" that showed a video game character wearing a gas mask and pointing a gun with two dead policemen in the background, police said.

The text with the photo says "Make my day!!!" and "It's sweetwater pd that's gotta die!!! Lol," police said.

Man Stole N. Miami Beach Police Car to "Drive Around": Cops

According to the lawsuit, LaRosa, a teacher at a school for special needs students, was arrested at the school by Oliu and Brenner.

A Sweetwater Police report filed by Oliu and Brenner at the time of the arrest said LaRosa admitted to making the posting and said he did it after breaking up with his girlfriend and learning she was dating a Sweetwater cop.

The lawsuit claimed LaRosa posed no threat to any police officer when he made the posting on January 30, 2012, up to and including when he was arrested on March 5.

"The facts and circumstances within the knowledge of Officers Brenner and Oliu would cause no reasonably prudent person to believe that LaRosa had committed any crime, particularly that for which he was arrested, because it is unquestionable that LaRosa's Instagram posting was not made with any intent to influence any act or omission within the official discretion of any public servant," the lawsuit states.

The charge against LaRosa was dropped in April 2012, the lawsuit said.

According to the lawsuit, the arrest caused LaRosa abuse and harassment and violated his constitutional rights. It claims LaRosa was falsely imprisoned, was the victim of malicious prosecution and was defamed.

"LaRosa has suffered humiliation and other severe emotional and psychological trauma," the lawsuit claims.

Acting Sergeant Reny Garcia is not named in the lawsuit. When asked whether the whether the suspensions of Oliu, Brenner and Reny Garcia were related to the lawsuit, Hammontree-Garcia said not to her knowledge.

The incident comes just days after Sweetwater Det. William Garcia was arrested on charges of credit card fraud and identity theft. According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Garcia used his credit card to help create fraudulent credit cards from late 2010 to 2011.

He hid the evidence when he learned that a co-conspirator had been arrested and kept and used the false credit cards that he claimed had been seized during the course of his duties, the release said.

Hammontree-Garcia said the arrest of William Garcia wasn’t related to the suspensions of the other law enforcement officers.

Last month, Sweetwater Mayor Manuel Marono was suspended by Gov. Rick Scott after he was arrested on public corruption charges.

Firing Florida Cops

When Florida cops are fired, they often don’t stay fired

 BY CHRISTINA VEIGA

CVEIGA@MIAMIHERALD.COM

The police officers have been accused of beating up gay men, looking at porn while on duty — even hiding drugs and stealing from those they arrested.

Each one was fired. And each one eventually got his job back.

The latest: A Miami Beach police officer, fired after he was accused of beating up a handcuffed man and yelling anti-gay epithets while arresting a witness to the altercation, just won his job back. His work partner in that incident also fought his termination and won.

In South Florida, it can be hard for cops to stay fired. Those who swear to protect and serve are supported by powerful unions with enough cash to pay for talented lawyers. Police contracts often require cities to adhere to the findings of an arbitrator when an officer contests a termination.

Cops have another tool at their disposal: an officers’ bill of rights, written into state law, which mandates certain protections for police officers accused of wrongdoing.

“It’s part of their security, and checks and balances that are necessary, because it’s so easy to falsely accuse a police officer,” said attorney Richard Sharpstein, who has represented many police officers.

“They face administrative problems in their departments; they face criminal problems from people they’ve arrested who have grudges or reasons to lie or outright hate a police officer. So yeah, they have those rights, because otherwise any jerk on the street could have them terminated based on some personal vendetta.”

Sharpstein is currently representing former Opa-locka Sgt. German Bosque, who has been arrested at least three times and fired six.

The former sergeant is believed to have been investigated more times than any other officer in Florida. He’s still fighting his latest termination, which came on the heels of his arrest on charges of kidnapping, battery and tampering with a witness who had tried to file a complaint against him.

The state is also considering yanking his police certification.

Sharpstein said the latest charges against his client stem from “personality conflicts” in the department and called the case “ridiculous.”

In other cases around South Florida:

• In Miami Beach, officers Frankly Forte and Eliut Hazzi were fired after a gay tourist accused them of gay bashing. The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of the tourist and Miami Beach settled the case for $75,000.

In December 2012, an arbitrator decided Hazzi should have his job back. The decision to return Forte to the force was reached on Aug. 31. In his case, the arbitrator decided that the officers didn’t target the subjects because of their sexuality, that the arrests were justified and that the officers didn’t use excessive force.

• In Miami Beach, a sergeant who was fired after an infamous ATV incident — in which a drunk cop ran over two people on the sand while giving a bachelorette a ride on the back of the vehicle — won his job back after the city fired him for ignoring his police radio and leaving his shift early. The arbitrator decided the sergeant wasn’t negligent but simply “overwhelmed by circumstances” beyond his control.

• In Broward County, Lt. James Murray won his job back at the Broward Sheriff’s Office after he was fired for harassing employees and looking at porn while on duty, according to the department.

In each of these cases, the officers and their unions argued they were stripped of their badges because of political retaliation. In Miami Beach’s case, the union argued that cops were offered up to “appease” the community after a series of embarrassing incidents. In Broward, Murray told the media he was targeted because he refused to conduct surveillance of a union representative.

The American Civil Liberties Union, however, sees things differently.

“Ultimately, the most basic job of police officers is to keep the communities they serve safe. When they are failing to do that, when policies and practices actually put people at risk of either false prosecution or physical danger, the trust that people have in law enforcement breaks down. Especially when no one is held responsible. That makes all of us less safe,” spokesman Baylor Johnson wrote in an email.

Follow @Cveiga on Twitter. 

Midlothian cop linked to federal probe is put on leave

The south suburb of Midlothian has placed a high-level police officer on paid leave after a Tribune report that detailed a federal investigation into the Police Department.

Mayor Sharon Rybak said the village placed Sgt. Steven Zamiar on paid administrative leave Thursday afternoon but declined to say why, calling it a "personnel issue." Zamiar is a 13-year veteran who served as the suburb's deputy chief until a recent political shake-up.

Village officials have been aware of a federal probe linked to Zamiar since at least February, when a grand jury issued a subpoena to the suburb seeking a slew of records pertaining to him, including his personnel file and any allegations of misconduct against him.

But Zamiar was allowed to continue working in the department until after the Tribune's report was published Tuesday.

A woman who answered Zamiar's phone Thursday said he wasn't available and hung up.

It remains unclear exactly what about Zamiar or the town's small Police Department has drawn the attention of federal investigators.

The village received a second grand jury subpoena in late June seeking police logs and call records tied to three days in 2011, along with the department's policy manuals regarding "use of force by police officers."

On one of those days, Zamiar filed an incident report saying he used a baton to subdue a suspect after an early morning chase outside a bar — at a time department records show he was not clocked in. Charges against the suspect alleging assault and resisting an officer were later dropped, according to court records.

In his police report, Zamiar said the suspect turned toward him "in an aggressive manner" after a short chase.

"At this time I utilized my ASP Baton and the subject was taken into custody without further resistance," Zamiar wrote.

More drunk and drugged up cops…….

Aiken area police officer charged with DUI

AIKEN, S.C. -- A Wagener police office has been charged with drunken driving. The Aiken Standard reports that 30-year-old Craig Martin of Wagener was off duty but driving a town police car when he was arrested about 3:30 a.m. Friday. Police Chief Tom Gray said Martin was relieved of his duties. A sheriff’s report says Martin was driving his Ford Crown Victoria in circles around a parking lot in Aiken and traveling very slowly on Highway 39 without headlights. When deputies stopped him, he acknowledged he was an officer and provided his badge. The report says there was a case of beer in the car and an open beer in the cup holder. Martin refused to take a field sobriety test or a breath test.

Police Officer Arrested, Charged With Illegally Purchasing Prescription Drugs

DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) – Decatur Police have charged Officer Timothy Hughes with receiving a controlled substance.  This was a result of an investigation by Decatur’s Organized Crime Unit and the Morgan County Drug Task Force.  Hughes, 24, was booked in the Morgan County Jail.  He posted a $2,500 bond and was released.

Decatur Police Chief Ed Taylor said Hughes illegally purchased prescription medication, specifically Oxycodone. The department got a tip earlier this week and started an investigation. Officer Hughes was arrested around 9 a.m. in the parking lot of the Garden Suites Inn (former the Holiday Inn) on Wilson Street NE in Decatur.  Officers with the Decatur Police Department’s Special Operation Unit used a cooperating witness working under their supervision to sell Hughes the Oxycodone. He resigned after his arrest.

DeKalb police officer arrested on drug-trafficking charges

A DeKalb County Police officer was arrested Friday on accusations he helped a ring of methamphetamine dealers, serving as a lookout and offering police information, authorities said. William Miguel, an 11-year veteran, is charged with conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine and was taken into custody Friday morning by DEA agents and Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office investigators as he came to work, DeKalb Police Chief Cedric Alexander said. Miguel, 44, was funneling vital police information to the head of a drug organization regarding arrests made in DeKalb County, among other things, Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Officer facing charges

A local officer will appear in court Friday to determine whether he should be charged in an alleged hit-and-run, drunken driving accident in March. Evan Robitaille, 32, who has been on paid administrative leave since the alleged incident, is scheduled to appear at a clerk magistrate’s hearing at Lowell District Court to answer a summons issued to him by State Police following the March 11 accident. The “criminal summons” was for operating under the influence of liquor, leaving the scene of an accident causing property damage, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and failure to use care in starting, stopping, turning or backing up a motor vehicle, according to the State Police daily log for March 11. At the hearing, a court magistrate will review the case and determine if there is enough evidence to issue a criminal complaint.

Fairfax cop convicted of shoplifting. Why hasn’t she been fired?

Alexandra Neff , a 12-year veteran of the Fairfax County police force has been found guilty of shoplifting in Loudoun County. She attempted to take a purse and blouse from Lord & Taylor at the Dulles Town Center in December, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. Fairfax County police said Neff has been placed on administrative duties, pending the outcome of an internal investigation.