Published: Saturday, April 14, 2007
State investigators to probe allegations against police
The police chief says he hasn't seen any evidence of officers double dipping.
By TIM YOVICH
WARREN — State investigators have been called in by city Law Director Gregory Hicks to probe possible double dipping in the police department.
Service-Safety Director William Douglas Franklin said the investigation centers around police officers working side jobs on city time.
Hicks said Friday that he sent the request Wednesday to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, asking for its help.
Also, the Ohio Attorney General's office has launched an official investigation into possible criminal activity at the department.
The letter asks the BCI "to investigate possible criminal activity involving one or more officers on the Warren Police Department."
Hicks declined to comment further, other than to say there are only allegations at this point. Another reason Hicks said he doesn't want to name individuals is because "reputations are involved."
Police are permitted to perform private work, but not while working on city time.
"It's not widespread," Franklin said of those possibly working side jobs while on duty.
Chief responds
Police Chief John Mandopoulos also confirmed that the allegations surround officers working side jobs while they were supposed to be at work for the city.
He credited the allegations to "personal internal vendettas" within the department. He said somebody took "so-called evidence" to Gary Cicero, city human resources director.
Cicero, Mandopoulos said, conducted his own investigation and turned in what he had found to Hicks several weeks ago.
The chief said he wasn't notified by Cicero of what he was doing. Cicero was taking pictures and watching locations of suspected side-job sites, Mandopoulos said.
Mandopoulos said he has reviewed records from Jan. 1 to the present. He found one officer who worked a side job, but it was while the officer was on vacation.
Another officer, the chief said, had worked a side job six times, but the officer had docked the time from payroll records.
"I don't know where there was any double dipping," the chief asserted.
Mandopoulos said the records turned over to Hicks by Cicero "may not be an accurate record of what occurred."
The chief said his department will assist BCI in any way possible and asked residents to wait until the investigation is complete before passing judgment.
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