County employees charged with fraud from program www.privateofficer.com

County employees arrested for theft of money www.privateofficer.com

Chicago IL. Jan 28, 2008

Cook County IL.
Three former Cook County government employees and five others have been charged with stealing as much as $1.6 million, including more than $500,000 from taxpayers.
The county workers accused in the fraud scheme are employees of Cook County Board President Todd Stroger’s job training program, known as the President’s Office of Employment Training, or POET.
The three former employees are Roberto Rivera, Ronald Harper and Rudolph Sanchez. Each held high-ranking positions in POET. Rivera and Harper appeared in court this afternoon, while Sanchez awaits extradition from New Mexico, prosecutors said.
Others charged include Charles Koen, a convicted felon who is pastor of Christian Hope Church in Chicago; and Alex Brooks, a reverend there, prosecutors said.
Also charged are Joyce Norfleet and Dorothy Taylor, employees at what prosecutors say was a shell company set up by Koen.
Harper was led from his office Thursday in handcuffs. He’s been fired, officials said.
The county POET office gets millions of dollars in county, state and federal funds to provide job training.
In 2005, POET fiscal manager Shirley Glover was charged with stealing more than $180,000 from the agency. Described by prosecutors as “unqualified” and “inept,” she was hired at the urging of top county patronage chiefs despite having 10 previous felony convictions for crimes including theft. Records showed she never formally applied for the job and was hired by ex-Board President John Stroger.
State’s Attorney Richard Devine said then there were a “lack of controls” and “significant looseness” in oversight of POET funds — concerns that led state officials to label the county POET program as “high-risk,” meaning no funds could be withdrawn without state approval.
Glover remains free on bail after pleading not guilty. She last appeared in court on Wednesday.

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K-Mart Employee Charged In Refund Scam www.privateofficer.com

K-Mart Employee Arrested For Refund Scam www.privateofficer.com

Maysville Ohio Jan 28, 2008

Maysville Ohio
A Mason County grand jury met Friday and returned indictments against 11 people, one of which was indicted for allegedly stealing several thousand dollars from her employer, Kmart.Mary Jane Cooper, 49, of Maysville, an 18-year veteran employee of the Maysville Kmart store appeared in Mason County District Court in October 2007 on charges of theft for allegedly stealing between $3,600 and $3,700 from the store; at the time of her court appearance Cooper entered a plea of not guilty.In a previous interview, Detective Mike Palmer with the Maysville Police Department said 49-year-old Cooper had been charged with two felony counts of theft by deception and one misdemeanor count of theft by deception, though more charges were possible.The indictment handed down Friday charges Cooper with one count theft by failure to make required disposition when she took an amount in excess of $300. The penalty for the charge is one to five years.According to Palmer, police were alerted to the possible theft through Kmart’s loss prevention department.Allegedly, Cooper stole the money through the fraudulent processing of return and exchange paperwork for nonexistent items, then pocketed the money. Palmer said it appeared Cooper would use a receipt for items purchased earlier, then cash out a refund, without the item being returned. After numerous items which were supposedly returned could not be found, officials with the store became suspicious.

The thefts allegedly occurred over a period of time beginning in December 2005 through September 2007.A spokesperson for Kmart would not comment on the situation citing a corporate policy and ongoing litigation.

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School security officers charged in “Ghost Payrolling” theft www.privateofficer.com

School security officers charged with “Ghost Payrolling” theft www.privateofficer.com

Waukegan IL Jan 28 2008

WAUKEGAN IL. — A six-month investigation into alleged ghost-payrolling at the Waukegan Public School District led to the arrest this week of two district security guards on felony theft charges.
Taken into custody Wednesday was Anthony Artley, 41, of the 500 block of Lakehurst in Waukegan, while the second suspect, 47-year-old DeWayne Williams of the 39000 block of Ackworth, Beach Park, reportedly turned himself in to police on Thursday.
Williams is known in the Waukegan sports community as the backfield mate of the late Gerald Green, the Waukegan West track and football All-American. Williams has been employed as the supervisor of safety at the Waukegan Ninth Grade Center.
Police Chief William Biang said Williams and Artley, a fellow Ninth Grade Center employee, are accused of arranging to be paid for time they did not work. The arrests were the result of an investigation launched in July after school officials asked police to look into allegations of payroll and accounting irregularities.
Asked how much money the men are accused of taking, Biang said, “It’s all still under investigation. We’re not done counting it, and there are more things that might come out.” Biang added that the amounts “will be substantial.”
Both men are charged with Class 3 felony theft.
Following their arrests, Artley and Williams were released on $35,000 personal recognizance bonds. They have been placed on administrative leave by the school district.
Officials asked that anyone with information call detectives at (847) 599-2947.

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University Executive Guilty In Shoplifting Case www.privateofficer.com

University Executive Pleads Guilty To Shoplifting www.privateofficer.com

EDMOND Okla. Jan 28 2008 — The executive director of alumni relations at the University of Central Oklahoma pleaded no contest to a larceny charge Thursday in Oklahoma City Municipal Court.
Stacy McNeiland, 37, of Oklahoma City was fined $219. She also was ordered to pay $117 for the time she spent in jail.
McNeiland was arrested at J.C. Penney’s, 1901 NW Expressway, after a store security officer said he watched a woman take five items of clothing into a fitting room, according to an Oklahoma City police report.
When the woman left the fitting room, the officer said only four items were hung on the courtesy rack. One item of clothing was hung on two hangers, the report states.
The officer said he found a discarded tag from a blouse left in the fitting room, the report shows. A blouse was found in a paper bag the woman was carrying as she left the store without paying for the merchandise, according to the report. The officer reported that the bag was empty when the woman went into the fitting room.
The woman, later identified as McNeiland, repeatedly told the officer the incident was a mistake, the report states.
McNeiland was on vacation Friday from her university job. She has not worked since her arrest Nov. 5.
University spokesman Charlie Johnson said he could not comment because the issue was a personnel matter.

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Police Officer Shot, Killed At Home www.privateofficer.com

Memphis TN. Jan 28, 2008

A Memphis police officer was found shot to death at his residence Monday after his SUV was discovered burning several blocks away, authorities say.
Lt. Ed Vidulich, 51, was apparently shot, though an autopsy will determine the cause of death, said police spokeswoman Monique Martin.
There were no obvious signs of forced entry to the residence. “We have some leads, but it’s a mystery,” Martin said.
Shortly after midnight Sunday, police investigating the discovery of a sport utility vehicle found burning on a city street determined that it belonged to Vidulich.
Officers went to his residence and found his body, Martin said.
Police said Vidulich talked with his wife, a sheriff’s department dispatcher, by phone about 9 p.m. Sunday and the SUV was believed set on fire about 10:30 p.m.
Investigators were initially focused on determining Vidulich’s activities during that time gap.

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Judge makes MySpace commenter wear sign www.privateofficer.com

Nashville TN. Jan 28, 2008

A Nashville judge has given an unusual punishment to a teenager to stand outside police headquarters holding a sign that says officers are “not pigs.”
Nineteen-year-old Austin Bean’s public defender argued Friday that his First Amendment rights were being challenged.
Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Mark Fishburn ordered the teenager to hold a sign reading, “Respect the police, they are not pigs as I stated on my MySpace page” and “There is nothing funny about guns and nothing cool about gangs.”
The order was a condition of the probation the teenager received for a charge of coercing a witness. Bean posted threatening messages against another teenager on MySpace.
Bean will not have to follow the order until his case is appealed.

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Shoe shine customer causes alarm at airport www.privateofficer.com

Shoe shine customer sets off security alarm at airport www.privateofficer.com

BOISE, Idaho Jan 28, 2008 — A California man who breached security Friday at the Boise Airport may pay a lot more than he expected for a shoe shine.
Authorities say the 43-year-old Victorville, Calif., man bypassed a security checkpoint in his quest for a shoe shine, a breach that led to an 80-minute shutdown of the terminal, delayed four flights and required re-screening of at least 400 passengers.
He was cited for failure to be screened before entering a secure area, a misdemeanor, the Boise Police Department said in a statement. The violation is punishable by a maximum six months in jail. He also could face maximum fines of $3,000 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Transportation Safety Administration spokesman Nico Melendez said the man left a secure area of the terminal and was seen by passengers using an exit door to enter the concourse.
After confirming what had happened by checking a video camera, police and airport security began the search and shutdown of the airport.
During the search, a shoe shine employee shared information on a possible identity, Boise police said.
Security then obtained the California man’s cell phone number and called him and asked him to return to the airport. Police said the man was cooperative, acknowledged breaching security to get his shoes shined and was released.

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Correction officer killer sentenced to life www.privateofficer.com

Corrections officer killer sentenced to life www.privateofficer.com

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — Jan 28 2008
A judge sentenced a state prison inmate Monday to life without parole for murdering a correctional officer while escaping from a hospital two years ago.
Brandon T. Morris, 22, of Baltimore, was convicted this month of murder for killing prison guard Jeffery A. Wroten, 44, at Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown. After shooting Wroten in the head with the guard’s own gun as he pleaded for his life early on Jan. 26, 2006, Morris briefly took a hospital visitor hostage and then carjacked a taxi.
Morris forced the cabbie at gunpoint to drive him to nearby Pennsylvania, where the driver deliberately crashed into a concrete barrier. Morris fled back into Maryland, where he was captured in an industrial park.
He had been taken to the hospital from nearby Roxbury Correctional Institution for removal of a sewing needle that he had jabbed so deeply into his abdomen that it pierced his liver.
Prosecutors pushed for the death penalty, but the judge rejected the request. Washington County State’s Attorney Charles Strong said he has a continuing concern about the safety of correctional officers guarding Morris because “he has shown he is violent.”
Judge Joseph P. Manck said factors including Morris’ emotional immaturity and his history of “staggering” childhood abuse outweighed the state’s arguments for execution, but he told Morris: “You are an evil man.”
Morris also was sentenced to 301 years for his conviction on other charges.
“I think it was the appropriate outcome, given the evidence,” defense attorney Arcangelo Tuminelli said.
Wroten’s ex-wife Tracey, with whom he had four daughters ages 7 to 13, told reporters afterward that she was “disappointed and probably a little angry” that Manck hadn’t sentenced Morris to death.
“There is nothing I could say that would express the anger I have toward him. I have no mercy for him,” Tracey Wroten said.

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Police officer shot 6 times chasing shoplifter www.privateofficer.com

Police officer shot 6 times arresting shoplifter www.privateofficer.com

Jacksonville FLA. Jan 28, 2008

A Jacksonville police officer wounded in a mall shootout is in serious condition days after he shot and killed a man suspected of shoplifting.
Authorities say Officer Jared Reston was shot Saturday night outside the Regency Square mall but was conscious when he was taken to the hospital in critical condition. After surgery, he was listed in serious condition.
Police say Reston’s bulletproof vest saved his life, stopping three bullets fired into his chest. He was hit in the face, leg and buttocks.
Reston was chasing one shoplifting suspect as another officer managed to take a second suspect into custody.
Authorities say Reston repeatedly ordered Joel Abner to stop but he didn’t. At the end of the chase, Reston was knocked to the ground and Abner fired several times at the officer. Reston was able to get up and return fire.
The man taken into custody, Christopher Smith, is charged with misdemeanor petty theft and criminal mischief. He’s being held on $7,500 bond.

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shoplifter fires at police www.privateofficer.com

Shoplifter fires at police officer www.privateofficer.com

PHOENIX AZ.Jan 28 2008 – A shoplifting suspect fired at least one shot at an officer in west Phoenix before he fled the scene in a car, police said.
Sgt. Joel Tranter says the officer returned fire on the suspect Sunday night as he ran from a Wal-Mart store, but did not hit him.
Tranter says the suspect jumped into a car in the parking lot. The car fled, but police soon after stopped it. Another man, a woman and two children were in the car.
The suspected shoplifter was taken into custody, and the other people in the car were being questioned.Tranter says the officer was in full police uniform and was at the Wal-Mart working as security.

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Fla. shoplifting Gang Steals $100 Million In Goods www.privateofficer.com

LAKELAND FLA.– A multi-agency investigation that began with a single shoplifting incident about seven months ago has revealed an 18-person crime ring that may be responsible for the theft of up to $100 million worth of medicine and health and beauty goods from convenience and grocery stores statewide, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Thursday.The investigation started with two shoplifters at a Publix supermarket on Shepherd Road in Lakeland on June 26, Judd said at a news conference in Lakeland on Thursday afternoon.Rita Maddox and Elisha Cordle of Dover stole nearly $4,500 worth of Oil of Olay products that day, placing them into special bags designed to conceal stolen goods, Judd said.To law enforcement, it seemed like a regular shoplifting incident and the two were charged with grand theft. But after speaking with confidential sources, Judd said, a sheriff’s detective uncovered something more: the single largest organized crime ring of its kind in Polk County Sheriff’s Office history.On Thursday, after executing five search warrants, 14 people were arrested and charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. Five of those people are already serving jail or prison time, Judd said. Four more people are still wanted on the same charges.Judd said many more may be involved.”I highly suspect that this is just a tentacle of a larger operation,” he said. “This is truly more of the beginning of the investigation than its end.”Maddox and Cordle were just two of at least 13 stealthy shoplifters who stole between $60 million and $100 million worth of over-the-counter medicines and beauty and health products from hundreds of convenience and grocery stores in at least 11 counties, Judd said.They reported to two middlemen and two ringleaders, who in turn sold the products out of two warehouses, three flea markets, including one in Auburndale, and two Web sites, including a long-standing eBay.com account.The crime ring has been operating for at least five years, Judd said.The investigation began after Maddox and Cordle, who have a child together, were arrested in June.It spanned seven months and included the sheriff’s offices of Polk and Hillsborough counties, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Attorney General Bill McCollum’s office.The retail theft operation was well-concealed. The 13 known shoplifters are all related in some way to each other and most had prior arrests and convictions for shoplifting, Judd said.They used bags designed to conceal the stolen items to shoplift from the stores, which they revisited numerous times. On one day, Judd said, investigators watched thefts occur in eight different stores. On another occasion, three people shoplifted from a Publix store while a manager did inventory in the same aisle. They were good at what they did, Judd said.The four who led the ring do not have criminal records, he said.Ringleaders Steven and Kerry Coburn are married and own four homes throughout Seminole County, authorities say. They sold the stolen items on their Web site SaleAwaySavings.com, Judd said, and even offered free shipping to customers in the U.S.One item, a soap and cologne gift set for men, was recently being sold on the site for $48.95. A 110-pack of Nicorette orange-flavored gum was on clearance sale for $159.99.The goods were delivered to the Coburns in cardboard Chiquita and Dole banana boxes. Steven Coburn inspected each box to make sure the items were in top condition. Popular items included Gillette razors and razor blades, Oil of Olay moisturizers and other health-related products, from Tylenol and Excedrin to pregnancy tests and diabetic test strips.”He wanted to make sure they were brand names and not generic,” said sheriff’s Maj. Joe Halman.Coburn even required forms to be signed that stated none of the products were stolen, Judd said.Theresa and Ronald Parrish were the middlemen, police said. They dealt with the shoplifters and paid them as much as $3,000 in cash for each delivery. Theresa Parrish, an eBay member since March 2002, sold some of the items out of her eBay store, Lola’s Discount Health and Beauty, officers said.More than 10,000 positive feedback points were left for Parrish from happy eBay members who purchased items such as razor blades, moisturizer and even bras. Buyers left praise for the quality of the products and speed of delivery.Judd said that once they were arrested, the Parrishes quickly confessed.”This investigation is just beginning. We know there are others involved,” he said.It is not known exactly how much of a profit the operation generated. Although the shoplifters were arrested from time to time, their offenses were thought to be singular events. Until the law enforcement agencies developed the investigation, they did not realize how many people were involved, Judd said.

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