Providence
officer charged with stealing from evidence room
By The Associated Press
A Providence officer accused of
stealing jewelry and other items from a Police evidence room has been indicted
on felony charges.
The indictment announced Friday by the
Attorney General's office charges 61-year-old Michael McCarthy with larceny of
a firearm, receiving stolen goods, larceny over $1,500 and embezzlement.
McCarthy, of Warwick, is a 36-year veteran
officer. He was suspended from the department.
McCarthy is accused of stealing a gun, a
diamond ring, and cash from the evidence room. He is to be arraigned in
Superior Court March 6.
Police officials have said they don't believe
any current cases are affected. They say a Sergeant noticed jewelry was missing
as Police prepared to return it to its owner.
It's unclear if McCarthy if represented by a
lawyer.
Cop
suspended; officials probe 'Scarface' theft
George Hunter,
Detroit — A Detroit Police
Special Operations officer was arrested and suspended after he allegedly stole
a shadowbox containing a photograph of actor Al Pacino and memorabilia from the
movie "Scarface" during a drug raid — the latest in a string of
accusations of wrongdoing amid drug investigations.
The officer was arrested by
Internal Affairs investigators after a fellow officer informed police officials
about the alleged theft Friday of the expensive wall hanging on the city's
northwest side, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said.
"He's been suspended, and
the allegations are under investigation," Craig said. "I want to
acknowledge that it came to our attention because another police officer
brought it to us. ... We applaud whenever an officer becomes aware of alleged
misconduct and takes action."
The suspended officer was part
of a Special Operations team assigned to provide security for a crew that
raided the suspected drug house, Craig said.
The raid of the house in the
16100 block of Lamphere Street netted more than $46,000 worth of heroin. Police
also confiscated 15 firearms.
At some point, the officer
allegedly stole the shadowbox, which in addition to a picture of Pacino,
contained bullets that were used in the movie "Scarface."
"No charges have been
filed yet," pending an investigation, Craig said.
The allegations are the latest
involving wrongdoing by officers investigating drugs. A federal probe is being
conducted into widespread corruption in the former Narcotics Section, which was
disbanded in July.
Accusations include a sergeant
who had failed to turn in 32 pieces of drug evidence confiscated from
hospitalized suspects and another sergeant who reportedly falsified evidence
tags for items seized during drug raids, including three flat-screen TVs, a
laptop computer and an Xbox 360 video game system.
Earlier this month, a Warren
couple whose medical marijuana operation was raided by a Detroit narcotics crew
filed a civil lawsuit against officers, including James Napier, who killed
himself as he was being investigated for corruption by the FBI and Internal
Affairs.
In November, a lieutenant and
an officer who were assigned to narcotics duty were suspended and are believed
to be part of the federal probe into alleged criminal wrongdoing; while in
August, a sergeant and five officers were suspended from the Narcotics Section
after a surveillance video captured them taking away a box they never logged as
evidence during a raid in February, 2013.
All of those cases are under
investigation.
Fmr.
Sweetwater Detective Arrested On Fraud Charge
February 26, 2015 4:51 PM
SWEETWATER (CBSMiami) — A
former Sweetwater detective is on the other side of the law after being
arrested on a fraud charge.
Octavio Oliu, 42, was arrested
and booked into jail on Thursday morning just before 11:00 a.m.
Sweetwater Police said Oliu
“used a stolen Michigan license plate on an unmarked police vehicle and
accumulated more than 530 Sun Pass violations.”
Florida Highway Patrol had
pulled over Oliu for speeding and failure to maintain a single lane.
When authorities searched
through Olius vehicle, they said they discovered a number of unauthorized
license plates.
He is charged with organized
scheme to defraud and three counts of official misconduct.
Police said as a consequence of
this arrest, Oliu has been placed on unpaid leave.
In 2013, Oliu was the target of
an investigation after there was a slew of complaints against the Sweetwater
Police Department ranging from brutality to theft.
Oliu was also the subject of a
civil suit which alleged he and auxiliary officer Richard Brenner arrested a
special needs teacher in front of his students outside their jurisdiction
because the man wrote a threatening message about cops online.
In the complaint filed against
the City of Sweetwater, the officers were accused of false arrest, false imprisonment
and violating civil rights.
Brenner was fired from the
department for failure to meet “probationary standards.”
The administration was also
investigating a secret property room
only a select few people knew about, including Oliu and Brenner.
The warehouse was filled with
uncatalogued property and evidence from open criminal cases which is a violation of law enforcement procedure.
Oliu’s bond for Thursday’s
arrest is set at $20,000.
Dyersburg
Police Officer Charged With Stealing From Couple
OBION COUNTY, Tenn. (FOX13) - A
Dyersburg Police Officer has been charged with stealing from an Obion County
couple, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday.
At the request of 27th District
Attorney General Thomas Thomas, TBI Special Agents, with the assistance of
officers with the Obion County Sheriff's Office, began investigating Cara
Elizabeth Johnson-Peckenpaugh on Feb. 10, an investigator with the Dyersburg
Police Department.
During the course of the
investigation, TBI agents determined that on Feb. 5, Officer
Johnson-Peckenpaugh electronically removed money from the checking account of a
Union City couple and used that money to pay her own electric bill to the
Forked Deer Electric Company in Halls.
The 37-year-old law enforcement
officer was charged with Theft under $500. She was booked at the Obion County
Jail and released on her own recognizance.
Officer Johnson-Peckenpaugh has
been suspended without pay from the Dyersburg Police Department pending an administrative
proceeding, the TBI said.
Former
high-ranking officer with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office charged with
misconduct in office
Lyn Riddle
When Greenville County Sheriff
Steve Loftis learned a deputy could have been involved with a longtime gambler,
he told an FBI agent, "Take it wherever it goes."
On Friday, it went to a small
courtroom in the Greenville County Detention Center where one of Loftis' most
trusted deputies, former Maj. Shea Smith, was arraigned on two charges of
misconduct in office, accused of giving that gambler information in exchange for
money.
Smith, 45, was released on a
personal recognizance bond after a hearing that lasted about five minutes. A
few minutes later, Smith darted out a side door to a waiting truck.
Loftis had brought in the FBI
because Izzat Khalil, who ran a high-stakes gambling operation for more than
two decades, was able to simply pay a small fine and reopen every time deputies
made an arrest. Loftis thought federal charges would be more of a deterrent.
As the investigation unfolded,
a deputy told Loftis that he believed Smith was involved with Khalil, and
Loftis turned that information over to the FBI. Khalil implicated Smith, and
the sheriff ordered an internal investigation, which led to Smith's
termination. Loftis then asked the State Law Enforcement Division to conduct a
criminal investigation.
Friday's charges stem from that
investigation. The warrants, written by SLED agent Gene Donohue, say Smith
received money from Khalil and other items of value from June 1, 2008 until
Dec. 31, 2013 and in return tipped Khalil off to information about ongoing
investigations, both those involving Khalil as well as others.
Smith went to work for the
Sheriff's Office in 1994, beginning as a deputy and rising through the ranks to
master deputy, training officer, platoon sergeant, public information officer,
lieutenant, then about five years ago to major, one of two.
On Friday afternoon, Smith was
in bond court in the Greenville County Detention Center and next door to his
former workplace, the Greenville County Law Enforcement Center. A detention
center officer stood with him behind a mesh screen, while Judge Leila Foster
explained his right to remain silent, to have an attorney and to have one
appointed if he couldn't afford one. His attorney Hannah Rogers Metcalfe sat in
another area behind a glass wall, the judge behind the bench in a third room.
Smith spoke briefly before the
hearing to Metcalfe, telling her he was OK. During the hearing, he spoke only
to answer the judge's questions: that he understood his rights and did not want
to make a statement.
Unlike many whose bond hearings
are in that courtroom, Smith did not wear the standard-issue orange jail
jumpsuit. He had on a blue dress shirt and black slacks. He was not handcuffed.
He was charged Friday morning and arraigned about four hours later.
Both of the charges are
misdemeanors. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 10 years on one charge
and up to one year and a fine of as much as $1,000 on the other.
Smith, 45, was fired last July
for conduct unbecoming an officer. At the time, Smith headed the administrative
division, which oversees personnel, recruiting, training, public information
and the department's budget. He has been working at Jackie Mauldin Collision
Repair.
Khalil pleaded guilty to
running illegal gambling operations and was sentenced last July to one year and
a day in federal prison. The U.S. attorney's office recommended a reduced
sentence for him because of his help with information beyond that of his
involvement with the deputies, including other operators, drugs and a possible
murder. He faced 27 to 33 months in prison.
Kahlil is serving his sentence
in a low-security prison in Virginia. His release date is in mid-March, and he
will be on probation for three years. At sentencing, he promised the judge he
was out of the gambling business.
In an attempt to lessen his
punishment, Khalil revealed he had a relationship with two deputies. One of
them was Smith. Khalil's attorney Larry Crane said during Khalil's sentencing
hearing that his client made cash payments to one deputy for information and
arranged financing for furniture, which Khalil paid off.
A second officer was given
money for information about search warrants and Khalil paid off the officer's
truck, Crane said. Khalil also wrote checks to the officer's wife to pay for
out-of-school activities for their daughter.
Crane did not name the
officers, but Loftis has identified them as Smith and David Hayes, a sergeant
when he was fired early last year, also for conduct unbecoming an officer.
Hayes has moved out of state and has not been charged, Loftis said.
Khalil, 54, was one of four or
five operators in Greenville County who staged illegal lotteries, some with
payouts of $90,000 for a $300 buy-in.
He provided parlay cards to bet
on sporting events and opened 24-hour, seven-day-a-week gambling operations in
warehouses that looked abandoned but had dozens and dozens of cars parked
outside.
The federal government
estimates Khalil made $1.5 million from illegal gambling, according to the
court record. The government has seized nearly $200,000 in cash, including
$56,549 taken from Khalil's home.
Friday afternoon, Loftis said
when he found out about allegations made against Smith he was hurt, angry and
felt betrayed.
"Now that he's been
arrested it brings it all up again," said Loftis, who has been sheriff for
13 years. "He was in the rank of major, which takes an awful lot of trust
and confidence."
Judge Foster said Smith would
be allowed to sign himself out of jail without posting any money because he had
no prior arrests as well as strong ties in the community and therefore was not
a flight risk.
Foster told Smith he was to
appear in General Sessions Court on March 29. She asked if he understood that
if he didn't appear, he'd be tried and a bench warrant would be issued for his
arrest.
He responded, "Yes, your
honor."
Former
Deputy Indicted for Civil Rights Violations and Obstruction of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office February
23, 2015 • Middle District of Florida (813)
274-6000
FORT MYERS, FL—United States
Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging
Michael J. Ronga (43, Cape Coral) with deprivation of civil rights and
obstruction of justice. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in
federal prison for the civil rights charge and up to 20 years in federal prison
for the obstruction of justice charge.
The indictment alleges that on
May 5, 2013, while working as a deputy sheriff with the Lee County Sheriff’s
Office, Ronga assaulted “R.L.C.” causing bodily injury, and also took money and
a cellphone from “R.L.C.” Ronga also allegedly lied to law enforcement about
his interactions with “R.L.C.” on that day.
An indictment is merely a
formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal
criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until,
proven guilty.
This case was investigated by
the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It
will be prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Amira D. Fox and
Chief Assistant United States Attorney Jesus M. Casas.
NOPD
officer arrested on theft, filing false public records
NEW ORLEANS —A 17-year veteran
of the New Orleans Police Department was placed on emergency suspension after
he was arrested Tuesday.
Sgt. Ashish Shah was arrested
on charges of filing or maintaining false public records and relative to theft
of goods over $1,500.
Officials said an investigation
began in September when the NOPD was made aware of possible criminal behavior
involving an off-duty detail. The Public Integrity Bureau launched its
investigation Sept. 30.
Following the arrest, Shah was
placed on emergency suspension.
Shah is a 17-year veteran of
the NOPD and was most recently assigned to the Fourth District, officials said.
