HEADLINE: Ex-Kiefer police officer says accusations false 

DATELINE: Kiefer, Oklahoma

A former Kiefer police officer spoke out Tuesday about an embezzlement count against him that was dropped by prosecutors, claiming that the charge had been based on an allegation concocted by former co-workers. On Nov. 22, Creek County prosecutors dropped a charge of embezzlement by an officer against former Kiefer Assistant Police Chief David Palmerchuk, 33. 

Creek County District Attorney Max Cook said there's a "good possibility" his office could file a new charge against Palmerchuk at some point. An affidavit accused Palmerchuk and then-Kiefer Police Chief David Little of snorting methamphetamine that they allegedly took from the police property room early this year. 

A second count against Little alleges that he embezzled methamphetamine from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30, 1999, while he was a police officer in Mounds. Charges still are pending against Little, who, like Palmerchuk, resigned from his post. 

"I've had a spotless record," said Palmerchuk, who formerly worked at the McAlester Police Department and for the sheriff's offices in Pittsburg and Tulsa counties. He said it distresses him that his name has been "thrown around like it has been." 

As a result of the ordeal, Palmerchuk said he and his wife of 12 years have separated and she has moved to Ohio. Forced to work outside law enforcement, he is employed by a Tulsa retail chain, he said. "I've waited for nine months and kept my mouth shut," Palmerchuk said. "I'm just tired of it." 

According to a court affidavit, Little initiated the investigation by the Sheriff's Office when he called Creek County Chief Criminal Deputy Ed Willingham on March 28 regarding narcotics that allegedly were missing from Kiefer's police property room. Little reportedly said he had been contacted by part-time Kiefer dispatcher Gary King. 

Palmerchuk had summoned King to the Police Department late one night about a month earlier, court documents allege. There, King said he saw Palmerchuk standing over a desk on which were two lines of a white powder substance "consistent with methamphetamine." Palmerchuk "sucked the white powder through the straw and into his nose," the affidavit claims. 

Later, Palmerchuk obtained keys from Little's office, went into the property-evidence room and removed about eight small bags of a white powdery substance, records allege. Little reportedly inventoried the evidence room and told Willingham that a few bags of the drug and a gun were missing. 

Palmerchuk said Tuesday that the allegations are false and that he thinks Little and King fabricated the story in part to turn the attention away from Little. After getting reports in January from two reserve officers detailing "mood swings" by Little, Palmerchuk said he asked city leaders why they hadn't confronted the chief about alleged drug use. 

At one point, Palmerchuk said, he asked officials to institute random drug tests for him and Little. Palmerchuk also claims that Little was misappropriating Drug Abuse Resistance Education money. Authorities said Little failed a polygraph test, later admitting having snorted meth he had taken from the Kiefer property room around January, according to the affidavit. 

On another occasion in February, Little went into the property room to get more of the drug for his own use, records allege. Little went on to tell authorities that while he was a police officer in Mounds -- around October or November 1999 -- he took several small bags of methamphetamine from individuals during vehicle stops and from the Mounds Police Department property locker, the affidavit claims. 

Palmerchuk said he plans to file a civil lawsuit against Kiefer officials for their failure to act on alleged malfeasance by Little. Neither Kiefer Mayor Donnie Ashford nor Assistant Mayor Eddie Shoopman could be reached for comment. 

But immediately after the charges surfaced last year, Ashford told the Tulsa World that Palmerchuk and Little had been at odds and that each had made accusations against the other. 

While awaiting trial, Palmerchuk said prosecutors offered him several plea bargains, which he refused. "I want it to go to 12 people and let them hear the facts so I can go on with my life," he said.
 

HEADLINE: PROBE FAILS TO FIND HOW MURDER EVIDENCE DISAPPEARED 

DATELINE: Norfolk, Virginia

The Virginia State Police investigation into a missing evidence envelope from the murder trial of Derek R. Barnabei has ended without any conclusions about how it disappeared from the Norfolk courthouse, according to the court clerk.

Albert Teich Jr., clerk of the Circuit Court, said Friday that state police wrote him recently announcing the end of the probe. A spokeswoman for Gov. Jim Gilmore, whose office has been coordinating information on the investigation, did not return a call for comment on Friday. 

The envelope was kept in a triple-locked evidence room with a security alarm, Teich said. The only people allowed into the room are court employees, prosecutors and defense attorneys, always under the supervision of a court employee, Teich said. Security has been improved since the missing evidence was discovered, he said.

According to court officials, the investigation included interviews with courthouse employees and a fingerprint examination of the evidence. The envelope containing fingernail clippings and other samples from the victim, Sarah J. Wisnosky, apparently had been misplaced, officials reported in late August. Barnabei was convicted in 1993 of capital murder in the death of the 17-year-old student at Old Dominion University. He was executed Sept. 14.

The envelope was missing Aug. 29 and recovered Sept. 1 in another locked evidence room by state police investigators and a court employee, Teich said. The envelope was discovered missing when Gilmore sent police to retrieve it from the court. Gilmore was reviewing Barnabei's case to decide whether to order more DNA testing.

Barnabei, who had maintained his innocence since his arrest, had asked for DNA tests to be performed on blood and hair found on fingernail clippings taken from Wisnosky's body. The envelope contained the clippings, vaginal swabs and blood samples. Subsequent testing of the recovered evidence did not exonerate Barnabei of the murder, Gilmore announced days before the execution.

HEADLINE: GBI probes theft of drugs from evidence room 

DATELINE: Dublin, Ga. 

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is probing an October theft of an undisclosed amount of drugs from the evidence room of the Laurens County Drug Task Force. The GBI and Sheriff Kenny Webb, whose office manages the multi-agency task force, would not release details, but lawyers said the break-in could impact the prosecution of future drug cases. 

The burglary happened over the weekend of Oct. 21 and was reported after the task force's secretary arrived at work the following Monday, said Greg Harvey, assistant agent-in-charge of the Eastman GBI. Although the break-in was not made public, Webb said his office was not attempting to hide it. "If I was trying to cover it up, I'd have never reported it. I would never have called the GBI," he said. The break-in could raise questions about drug cases, defense attorney Ralph Jackson said. 

"There will be defense lawyers who will raise the issue of there being a bad chain of custody," said Jackson, a former Laurens County public defender. "Someone could argue that the drugs brought to court aren't actually the drugs that are part of the crime or that they have been altered." 

HEADLINE: Officer's fate up to commission; Racine police investigator suspended over handling of evidence 

DATELINE: Racine, WI

The Police and Fire Commission will have to decide whether Racine Police Investigator William Chesen received proper discipline when Acting Chief Alan Baker gave him a five-day suspension. Lawyers for Baker and Chesen have until Friday to submit post-hearing briefs about the situation.

The case is complicated because Chesen, who is the president of the Racine Police Association, has been an outspoken critic of Baker during the commission's selection process of a new police chief. Baker, who is assistant chief, was not selected. The commission chose Milwaukee Police Inspector David Spenner, who will be installed as chief on Monday. 

During a hearing last week, Baker's attorney, James Korom, and Chesen's attorney, Robert Weber, argued over the merits of suspending Chesen because of the contents of his evidence locker.

The contents at issue are: a pellet gun, a brass marijuana pipe, a car stereo, an equalizer, binoculars, a set of wire cutters and an identification card.

In February, Capt. Carl Pavilonis authorized the search of all temporary evidence lockers to make sure that they were in order. An announcement was made to all day-shift investigators about the planned search, but Weber maintained that Chesen, who works in the second-shift street crimes unit, was not properly notified.

According to Korom, Chesen is at fault because he didn't follow department procedures, and he falsified documents. The documents in question are property inventory sheets, which Chesen filled out during an investigation of an internal theft at a local Sears store that occurred in 1997.
Chesen indicated on his sheets that all confiscated property was returned to Sears. But some items, including the car stereo, were found in his locker. "The upshot is Mr. Chesen did not follow department procedures," Korom said.

Chesen said he could not legally return those items -- the stereo, binoculars, equalizer and wire cutters -- to Sears because Paul Vance, who later pleaded guilty to theft, said those were his personal items. Vance could not produce any receipts or other identification to prove that they were his property. 

Chesen said what he should have written on his reports is that "all property that belonged to Sears was returned." Chesen said Vance had told him that he had stolen the items because of a drug problem, and Vance agreed to cooperate with drug investigators in return for his personal property. Chesen said that Vance did not cooperate, and that he never made another overture to have the property returned.

"That strikes me as odd," Baker said.  "That doesn't sound ethical to me. I don't know if there's any policy (but) it shouldn't happen."

Chesen said that shortly after that, he was transferred from general investigations to the street crimes unit, and he forgot about the items in his locker. Weber argued that Chesen was being unfairly disciplined because of his activities as the police association's president.

Two other employees whose evidence lockers were searched were found in violation of department policies, but they were not suspended. One employee received a written reprimand; the other lost 24 hours of pay. Baker pointed out that the other two officers had no record of disciplinary action, and Chesen received a suspension because he has two prior incidents on his record. Chesen received an oral reprimand after he failed to attend a shooting practice, and he received a 16-hour loss of time for mishandling a training check in 1999.

Weber said the 16-hour loss of time is being contested, and a decision is pending by the Wisconsin Employee Relations Commission. Weber also pointed out that the suspension is the second disciplinary action leveled against Chesen since he became union president, and that Chesen had received four commendations and two exemplary officer awards during his 25 years as a police officer.

John Fuchs, a labor attorney who represents the Milwaukee Police Association, said that while he had seen instances of disciplinary retaliation against union members, it is not the rule. "It's not common, but it's (also) not unheard of," Fuchs said. 

HEADLINE: Sheriff sentenced for marijuana sale, theft of seized money 

DATELINE: San Antonio 

A federal prison sentence for Frio County's outgoing sheriff on charges he conspired to distribute marijuana and stole funds has gotten mixed reactions from South Texas officials, with some saying the decision was long overdue. 

Sheriff Carl Henry Burris was ordered Monday by U.S. District Judge H.F. "Hippo" Garcia to pay $5,920 in restitution. The 53-year-old sheriff received a sentence of 10 years and one month in federal prison. 

The FBI says it is continuing to investigate some of Burris' deputies. County Judge Carlos Garcia said he hoped Burris' sentencing would enable the county to open a new chapter in law enforcement. 

"I think we need a new image," Garcia told the San Antonio Express-News in Tuesday's editions. "Everywhere you look, people think negative things about the county." Burris remained free on a $50,000 bond. He will be placed under supervised release for five years after completing his prison term, which begins on Feb. 15. 

Burris pleaded guilty in October to a charge of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and one charge of theft of federal program funds. He admitted that he kept more than half of approximately $11,700 one of his deputies seized around November 1994 and used it for personal expenses, including a trip to Florida. 

To cover up the missing funds, Burris said he took marijuana from the sheriff's evidence locker and solicited another person to sell it. Burris pocketed $5,300 from the sale. Burris lost his re-election bid in November to Democrat Lionel Trevino, who takes office Jan. 1. 

"Some people will remember the good things; some people will remember the bad things," Burris told the newspaper. "But I believe if you make a mistake, you need to stand up and admit it and take what's coming to you." Burris, asked about the future, only said the county would keep "moving forward." Frio County Judge Carlos A. Garcia said Chief Deputy Alex Torres probably would fill the remainder of Burris' term. Authorities still are investigating the case, which involved the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Customs Service and the Texas Rangers. 

"The corruption of any law enforcement officer is a tragic day for our criminal justice system, particularly when it represents the corruption of a high-ranking officer," FBI Special Agent in Charge Roderick L. Beverly said in a statement. 

HEADLINE: Logan County sheriff resigns before term expires 

DATELINE: Guthrie, Okla. 

The sheriff of Logan County submitted a one-sentence resignation on Monday, less than two weeks before his term would have expired. The departure of Craig Platt, who has been sheriff since 1997, comes after the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation on Friday gave a report to Logan County District Attorney Rob Hudson. 

The OSBI has been investigating allegations against Platt's office since July. Hudson asked for the probe after hearing complaints of misconduct and missing money in the sheriff's department. 

In July, agents began checking reports of money missing from the sheriff office's evidence room, reports of missing drug forfeiture money, the misuse of a county credit card and other official misconduct allegations, said Kym Koch, OSBI spokeswoman. 

Hudson said he was unsure if the OSBI report prompted Platt to resign. Platt did not give a reason for quitting in his resignation letter. "It would be improper for me to say," Hudson said. 

Logan County Commissioner Joe Hall declined to comment on why Platt resigned. Platt was unavailable for comment. Hudson said he could not release any information about the investigation from the report. He said he plans to make a decision on whether to file charges against Platt later this week. 

The county commissioners will meet Wednesday afternoon to accept Platt's resignation, Hall said. He said the resignation will be effective immediately after the meeting. Hall said Sheriff-elect Randy Richardson will fill Platt's unexpired term. 

HEADLINE: No criminal activity found in probe of Auburn evidence loss 

DATELINE: Auburn, Georgia

The GBI has found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the disappearance of guns and drugs from the Auburn Police Department, the town's new police chief said. Chief Gary Holland said "sloppy record-keeping" apparently is to blame. 

Holland, a veteran officer who has been chief less than one month, said he requested help from the GBI after a small number of weapons and drugs were missing from the police department's evidence room. The discrepancy was known prior to the termination of former chief Bill Lewis, Holland said. "Policies and procedures were not enforced or followed regarding evidence," he said. "Most occurred between 1998 and the time Lewis left." 

Lewis, a former police chief in Suwanee, was hired in December 1997 to rebuild Auburn's department, which had disbanded 10 months earlier and was re- established after an outpouring of community support. He was fired last month for what the mayor termed as a "violation of city policy." 

Holland said Lewis was notified about the discrepancies after the police department moved the contents of its evidence room to a new facility a few months ago. The evidence room had been under the supervision of several police chiefs, including Lewis. "When I took over I wanted to make sure it never came back to haunt me," Holland said of his decision to ask the GBI to investigate. Lewis said he knew that some evidence, dating back to the 1980s, was missing. But he said he "never got a tally." 

"The old evidence room was just the biggest mess," Lewis said. None of the evidence was needed for pending criminal trials, he said. "A lot we found in old boxes," Lewis said. "We were waiting until we moved to destroy it." 

HEADLINE: An ugly year for Providence police 

DATELINE: Providence, RI 

Two white officers shot a black off-duty officer, another officer was caught on video assaulting a motorist, three others were suspended for breaking into another officer's apartment, and now four officers are being investigated for allegedly threatening parking attendants with a gun and a baseball bat. This has been an ugly year for the Providence Police Department.

"Tell me about it," said a weary Patrolman Michael Marcoccio, president of the Providence Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 3.

People's opinions of the Police Department have plummeted with each new complaint about officers and the backlash has hit all the officers working the streets. Since the allegations became public earlier this week that four officers intimidated parking attendants over a $6 fee, people have been giving police a hard time, telling them that they're all "on the take," Marcoccio said. "I think we've lost a lot of trust in the public, and it's up to us to get that trust back."

Marcoccio thinks the Police Department needs new management. Last month, the union voted overwhelmingly in favor of the resignation of Police Chief Urbano Prignano Jr.

Marcoccio said he doesn't blame the chief for the recent misconduct allegations, but he believes the department needs a fresh start. "We've said from the get-go that this department is devoid of leadership. It needs a new direction. I believe it needs a whole new staff of management," Marcoccio said.

Here's a rundown of scandals or problems that have wracked the Providence Police Department in the past two years: February 1999: The Journal reports that the police cannot find more than a dozen VCRs, television sets and jewelry seized in a raid at Providence Pawnbrokers in 1996. The owner of the pawnshop has filed a claim against the city seeking $34,000 for the merchandise, "which cannot be located or were returned in damaged condition or not in its original packaging."

April 1999: Top police officials acknowledge that they cannot account for more than 250 cars seized in drug arrests and then sold by the department. The police said they had virtually no records of how much the cars were sold for, or who bought them.

April 1999: A sergeant repairing a broken clock in a squad room finds a hidden surveillance camera. Angry officers call a sickout and accuse the chief of spying on them to figure out who is leaking damaging information to The Journal. The police union holds a vote of no-confidence _ 60 percent vote against the chief and 82 percent against his administration.

_April 1999: The Journal reports that the police cut a deal with a drug dealer arrested with 62 pounds of marijuana. The dealer, Stephen A. DePaulo, receives a 15-year suspended sentence, avoiding a prison term. The police, in turn, confiscate DePaulo's 1993 BMW sedan and $19,000 in cash. Top police and city officials end up driving the car.

May 1999: Public Safety Commissioner John J. Partington, responding to the mounting controversies, demotes Sgt. Nicholas J. Cardarelli, who oversaw the pawnshop raid that resulted in the missing merchandise. Cardarelli goes on sick leave and retires a few months later.

May 1999: In response to an inquiry from The Journal, the police acknowledge that they cannot account for thousands of dollars in gold that Cardarelli's unit had seized from an Olneyville store.

July 1999: The Journal reports that the police cannot account for two pounds of cocaine seized from an accused drug dealer. Over the Fourth of July weekend, officers scramble to find the drugs. On July 5, Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. is set to call for a grand jury investigation into the missing cocaine. Less than an hour later, the police announce that they had found the drugs in an evidence room.

Jan. 28, 2000: Two white police officers, Michael Solitro and Carlos A. Saravia, mistakenly shoot and kill Cornel Young Jr., an off-duty black police officer, outside an Olneyville diner. The shooting becomes a divisive issue in the minority community that leads to a series of protests and questions about whether the officers shot too quickly because they believed the black officer was a threat.

A grand jury clears Solitro and Saravia of wrongdoing. Lawyers for Young's mother, Leisa, have threatened to file a $20-million lawsuit against the city. April 2000: Three off-duty officers are suspended for breaking into the home of a fellow officer and ransacking his apartment. A top police official, upset with the officers, characterizes the incident as "horseplay that went too far."

April 2000: Police officer Patrizia Giusti is suspended for 30 days after she is captured on videotape assaulting a motorist who she said cut her off on Route 10 while she was off-duty. The action is recorded on the first video camera mounted in a Providence police cruiser.

October 2000: The FBI is investigating allegations that a $5,000 bribe was paid on behalf of a police recruit to get him accepted into the Providence Police Training Academy.

October 2000: Eight top police officials, including the public safety commissioner and two majors, testify before a federal grand jury investigating corruption in the city. The subject of the probe is the $5,000 bribe allegedly paid on behalf of the recruit and allegations that favored officers received advance copies of promotional exams.

Nov. 20, 2000: The police union holds a special vote at the police union hall and the officers vote 212 to 70 seeking Chief Urbano Prignano Jr.'s resignation. The union leadership contends that Prignano has lost the confidence of the officers and is no longer capable of running the state's largest police department. Prignano, who has the support of the mayor, refuses to step down.

November 2000: A self-described drug dealer, in police custody facing drug charges, told a detective that he bought a handgun from a police officer whom he identified as one of his customers. The officer, Lucas C. Spinelli, also told police in Florida that he lost another gun there when he went to check himself into a substance-abuse facility. Spinelli, who was never questioned about the missing guns or charged with a crime, resigns from the police force, the Journal reported.

HEADLINE: Man accused of thefts from evidence rooms 

DATELINE: Butler, Pa. 

A man has been charged with stealing $500,000 worth of cash and drugs -- some from police evidence rooms -- in 23 burglaries dating back to 1993, police said.

Stephen Kent Myers, 37, an electrician with expertise in alarm systems and locksmithing, may have stolen heroin, cocaine and marijuana from three different state Bureau of Narcotics Investigation evidence rooms, police said Friday. He also stole $14,000 and his arrest record file from the Butler County District Attorney's Office, police said.

Police arrested Myers Dec. 11 after spotting him wearing a ski mask and carrying a crowbar in an apparent burglary attempt. A search turned up evidence envelopes full of heroin and cocaine in the rafters of his garage, police said. They also found safe doors, burglary tools, $7,000 in cash, more drugs and several lock tumblers in a storage facility Myers rented.

Authorities said they've recovered all the drugs, but $300,000 in cash is still missing.

HEADLINE: VETERAN DEPUTY FIRED, ARRESTED; WILLIAM L. HINSON JR. WAS CHARGED WITH STEALING NEARLY $25,000 FROM THE SHERIFF'S EVIDENCE ROOM. 

DATELINE: Deland, Florida

A 13-year veteran of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office was fired Thursday after being charged with stealing nearly $25,000 from the department's evidence room.

Deputy William L. Hinson Jr., who worked in the evidence section from September through Dec. 11 while assigned to light duty because of medical problems, is accused of taking a dozen evidence bags with a total of $24,489, said his supervisor, Maj. John Bonnevier. 

The 47-year-old patrol deputy was arrested Thursday on a felony warrant charging him with grand theft and was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail, with bail set at $3,500, according to a sheriff's report. He posted bond the same day.

Bonnevier first missed the money earlier this month while conducting an inspection at the DeLand evidence building. After being confronted on Dec. 17, Hinson confessed to the theft, the report said.

The next day, the Sheriff's Office notified Hinson that he would be fired, unless he contested the charges and was exonerated. As of Thursday Hinson hadn't done that, according to the Sheriff's Office. Investigators recovered more than $20,000 of the missing money after they said Hinson told them he stashed the cash in two separate locations in some woods.

They now are auditing the evidence room to see if anything else is missing. Hinson hasn't told authorities where the rest of the money is, investigators said. No one else was involved in the theft, they said.

HEADLINE: Prosecutors considering vacating former sheriff's plea agreement and sentence 

DATELINE: GUTHRIE, Okla. 

Logan County prosecutors want to vacate the plea agreement and sentence given to former Logan County Sheriff Craig Platt. 

District Attorney Rob Hudson on Thursday filed a motion in district court seeking to void the plea agreement, saying that Platt contradicted statements he made to the court in his guilty plea when he talked to the news media after his court appearance. 

Hudson's affidavit asks for a hearing before District Judge Donald L. Worthington, who last week gave Platt a deferred sentence and ordered him to pay $2,903 restitution to the county. 
Worthington and Hudson were unavailable for comment Thursday. Prosecutors charged Platt Dec. 20 with a felony count of embezzlement to which he pleaded guilty the following day under the plea agreement. 

In addition to restitution, Platt received a five-year deferred sentence and orders to perform 100 hours of community service and not hold public office for seven years. 

After the plea, Platt told a television reporter that he "was not a thief" and felt he had been betrayed by others, the affidavit Hudson filed said. 

The comments also are in "direct conflict and contradiction" to Platt's statements to the court earlier that day, the affidavit stated. Similar statements Platt made also were published in a Stillwater newspaper, the affidavit said.  Platt also said he decided to plead guilty because the crime happened during his tenure.  "I'm the elected sheriff of the county. As such I'm ultimately responsible for any funds that come into the department," he told The Daily Oklahoman on 
Dec. 21. 

Platt was charged based on an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation finding that he misused county funds. The bureau had been investigating him since July. 

Also on Thursday, Platt replaced his lawyer, Oklahoma City attorney Doug Friesen, with Robert Manchester, another Oklahoma City attorney. 

Manchester said he and Friesen believed it was best for Platt to have a new attorney. The attorneys thought the case was over until they heard rumors that the motion to vacate might be filed. Manchester said he had not seen Hudson's motion.  The OSBI report centered on three incidents. 

The first was Platt's trip to Hawaii to pick up two prisoners, one of whom was a female. Platt wanted to deputize his wife and take her on the trip, but he said it was never worked out because of prosecutors' indecision. 

Mrs. Platt went anyway, but not as a representative of the sheriff's office. He said no county money was used to pay for her airplane ticket, room or meals while they were in Hawaii. The OSBI's report said as of August no one had paid for the $818.11 ticket. 

The OSBI also said that in July, a .45-caliber rifle and a .22-caliber rifle were missing from the department's evidence room. Platt later returned the .45-caliber rifle, saying he had "checked it out" to teach a firearms class. The other rifle has not been returned. 

The OSBI report also said Platt received $778 from a Guthrie bail bondsman in October 1997 for expenses of picking up a prisoner in El Paso, Texas. 

An airplane ticket for the Texas trip was charged to the county credit card, but the former sheriff never deposited the money he received into the county's bank account, according to the court affidavit.