Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Chicago police officer indicted for falsifying information

UPDATE on Officer John Haleas

Cook County prosecutors say a Chicago police officer accused of falsifying information in drunken driving arrests ignored numerous critical steps in making a legitimate drunken driving arrest in April 2005.

Court documents filed Tuesday revealed the man arrested by Officer John Haleas registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.334. That is a level of intoxication at which people can lose consciousness or, in some cases, die. The man's DUI conviction was tossed out because of Haleas' misconduct.

Prosecutors say the missteps by Haleas ultimately led to his own indictment and the dismissal of 156 of his previous DUI arrests.

Haleas had been honored for making more DUI arrests than any other police officer in Illinois. The 12-year veteran is charged with perjury, official misconduct and obstruction of justice.

Officer Robin Brown Charged with Document Fraud

An Irvington police officer whose job was to stop document fraud is being accused of using a friend's birth certificate to obtain a New Jersey driver's license with her photo on it, authorities said today.

A state grand jury indicted Officer Robin M. Brown, 41, of Irvington, on charges of using of another's personal identifying information, tampering with public records and forgery, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice. The indictment was handed up late Tuesday.

Brown could not be reached for comment. She could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the most serious charge.

Brown got a duplicate driver's license in her friend's name, but with her photo on it last June at the Motor Vehicle Commission's office in Newark, prosecutors said.

The ruse was discovered when the friend went to change her address at the MVC office in Irvington and the clerk noticed the photo on file for the license was actually Brown. The clerk knew Brown because she worked at the Irvington office as part of a program that places police officers in motor vehicle agencies to stop document fraud.

Sacramento Police Officer arrested for Grand Theft

A Sacramento Police officer is facing felony charges of grand theft for refusing to return $20,000 to a friend. Apparently a friend asked Officer Sean Lewis to hold onto $50,000 so she could commit fraud against the welfare department, by claiming she was broke. But the next day, the 40 year old woman changed her mind and asked for the money back.

Officer Lewis became greedy and decided to tell her that the authorities had confiscated $20,000, but actually kept the money for himself. She then reported the incident to the departments internal affairs unit.

Officer Lewis has been a patrol officer since 1999, but resigned before the arrest, according to a statement issued by the Sacramento Police Department.

The missing $20,000 has not been found.