Former Officer Mark Fisher Arrested for Distributing Prescription Pain Narcotics

Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane today announced the arrest of a former Allegheny County police officer on charges that he participated in and directed the activities of an illegal prescription drug ring.

Evidence and testimony regarding the alleged illegal activity was presented to a statewide investigating grand jury, which recommended the criminal charges being filed today. The grand jury identified the defendant as Mark Fisher, 34, currently incarcerated in the Westmoreland County Prison. Fisher is a former police officer with the Turtle Creek Police Department.

According to the grand jury, Fisher, who developed an addiction to pain medications following an injury, recruited several individuals to assist him in distributing prescription pain narcotics throughout western Pennsylvania. After a period of time Fisher allegedly stopped using other individuals and began to pass prescriptions at various pharmacies in either his own name or the name of his wife.

The grand jury found that Fisher obtained the pills by using illegal prescriptions that were passed at several pharmacies throughout Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.

Pennsylvania has the fourteenth highest rate of drug overdoses in the country, most of which are caused by prescription drugs. Attorney General Kane reiterated her support for a prescription monitoring program in the Commonwealth because it would serve as an additional tool to enable health practitioners and law enforcement in identifying individuals involved in the illegal trade of doctor shopping and dealing in fraudulent prescriptions.

Attorney General Kane noted that this is an active and ongoing investigation and additional arrests are anticipated.

Fisher is charged with one count of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge; one count of possession with the intent to deliver; one count of criminal conspiracy; and one count of impersonating a public servant.

The case will be prosecuted in Westmoreland County by Senor Deputy Attorney General Mark Serge of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Section.

Officer Jose Villarreal Charged with Forging Documents

A Mexican national allegedly used forged documents to obtain U.S. citizenship and a job as a Homestead, Fla., police officer, authorities said.

Jose Villarreal, 31, has been charged with official misconduct, obtaining forged instruments and making false official statements, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday.

Villarreal's citizenship certificate was falsely obtained and the birth certificate he used contained false information about his date of birth, his middle name and his mother's name, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

Villarreal, who was arrested Friday, was hired by Homestead
police in 2006. He has been placed on administrative leave with pay, police spokesman Ed Bowe said.

"It's always a disappointment for any department when a police officer is arrested,'' Bowe said.

Officer Jose Villarreal Arrested for Falsifying Documents

A Homestead police officer has been arrested, accused of falsifying documents to obtain U.S. citizenship.

Miami-Dade jail spokeswoman Janell Hall said 31-year-old Jose Villarreal was still in jail Monday on $250,000 bail. He was arrested and charged last week with official misconduct, uttering forged instruments and false official statements.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Villarreal, who was born in Mexico, turned in a birth certificate with false information about his birthday, his middle name and his mother's name. He later applied for a law enforcement certification, using a copy of his citizenship certificate, which authorities say he falsely obtained.

Authorities said Villarreal, who was hired by Homestead police in 2006, has been placed on administrative leave with pay.

Police officers must have U.S. citizenship to work on the force.

Dead Dogs Found on Officer Matthew Beck's Property

The bodies of at least two dogs with gunshot wounds to the head were found Wednesday by police on the property of town Dog Control Officer Matthew Beck.
Town Supervisor Marilyn Douglas said Friday Beck has been placed on an indefinite leave of absence without pay.

Sgt. James Doyle of the New York State Police said the bones have been turned over to Ward Stone, a state Department of Environmental Conservation wildlife pathologist, for identification. Doyle said Stone's investigation so far indicates the two dogs were shot in the head while looking up at the weapon.

Beck was arrested by state police in March and charged with a felony count of forgery, and a number of misdemeanors relating to alleged misconduct of a public official, a petit larceny. The charges and subsequent investigation stem from a complaint by April Stevens of Hoosick, who lost her two dogs in February.

A resident reported to Stevens that she had found the lost dogs and turned them over to Beck. When police told Beck to return Stevens' dogs, the animals he returned were not hers.

Police said the current charges stem from Beck allegedly falsifying reports.

Doyle said that depending on the outcome of Stone's investigation, Beck may face further charges. He said Beck's next court date is June 11.

He said the findings bolster police suspicions that Beck killed Stevens' dogs. Also found in the manure pile with the dog bones were a number of cow bones, but Doyle said he did not believe there was any illegal activity regarding cows.
Douglas said Friday that the town's attorney has advised the Town Board not to comment on the case, as it is a pending legal issue. Douglas said Safe Haven Boarding and Grooming of Greenwich has been hired by the town to perform the duties of dog control officer.

Prior to Beck's leave of absence, he was supervised by Douglas and Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland and filed monthly reports to the board.

After the incident, some residents began expressing their concern at monthly board meetings about Beck still being on the job and having to be supervised while the investigation was conducted.

Douglas and other board members said they could not comment on personnel matters outside of executive sessions, and at the time the evidence against Beck was not great enough to warrant further actions against him.

Officer Phillip Brooks Arrested for Selling Impounded Cars

DAYTON, Ohio

A Dayton police officer has been indicted on more than 20 felony counts on allegations he illegally sold impounded cars.

Phillip Brooks, 43, was indicted today, May 21, on charges including grand theft, forgery, and tampering with evidence.

Brooks is accused of using the police database to find the owners of impounded cars, forging fake documents, and selling the cars in his name. Investigators said he has been doing it for at least four years and they found out about the scam when one of the vehicle's legitimate owners tried to reclaim a car.

Brooks could get up to 59 years in prison if convicted.

Brooks was booked into the jail April 9 for contempt of court when he refused to submit a handwriting sample in connection to the case. He was released several hours later when he provided the sample.

Brooks was removed from his patrol position last month when the case emerged. He's scheduled to be arraigned June 4.

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http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-news/dayton-police-officer-indicted-in-illegal-sales-129776.html

Information from the Dayton Daily News was used in this report.

Officer Johnathon Rogers Arrested for Larceny

A Marion police officer has been fired because of criminal charges he faces, Marion Police Chief Willie L. Smith said.

Johnathon M. Rogers, 27, of Gresham was arrested May 11 by Marion County sheriff’s deputies on larceny, counterfeiting and forgery charges.

Rogers is accused of stealing a Social Security card and birth certificate from a woman’s purse, according to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office incident report.

The report said Rogers admitted to claiming the victim’s daughter on his federal income tax. Rogers isn’t related to the victim and provided deputies with a copy of his 2008 tax returns.

Rogers was a police officer when he was arrested, but Smith said Rogers cannot serve on the force with those charges against him and was dismissed. Smith said he thought Rogers had been with the police department for about two years.
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http://www.carolinalive.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=303195

Detective Eugene Magwood Accused of Giving False Information

The State Law Enforcement Division on Thursday arrested a nine-year veteran of the Charleston County sheriff's office and accused him of forging a witness' lineup document and giving false information to the 9th Circuit solicitor's office about a 2006 rape case.

Detective Eugene Magwood, 54, of Johns Island, is charged with common law misconduct in office, a crime with a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, said Mark Plowden, public information officer for the S.C. attorney general's office.

Magwood, who has been an investigator since 2001, was released on a personal recognizance bond and placed on administrative leave with pay, sheriff's Maj. John Clark said.

An arrest affidavit said Magwood provided false information in the form of a photo lineup. The accusation is that he forged a witness' signature or initials, Plowden said.

The affidavit said that in pre-trial meetings, "Magwood did knowingly and willfully provide false information to an Assistant Solicitor and an investigator for the Solicitor's Office regarding the investigation and the accompanying investigative report."

Citing the ongoing nature of the state's investigation, Plowden and Clark wouldn't reveal more details. Clark said the sheriff's office spotted discrepancies and reported them to solicitors and SLED.

"We did not like what we saw," Clark said.

Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson, through a spokesman, declined to comment on the case because it involves solicitors who could be called as witnesses. It is not clear how, if it all, the arrest will affect the 2006 rape case or any other cases Magwood investigated.

Magwood could not be reached for comment. He had first been employed by the sheriff's office as a detention officer in 1998 and became a deputy in 2000, Clark said.

Former Deputy Lance Roe Charged with Forgery

A former Anderson County deputy sheriff is accused of forging a commercial driver's license in order to drive a church bus.

Former deputy Lance Roe, along with Michael Sivils were indicted on charges of felony forgery, according to the State Journal. The paper says that Sivils worked with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet handling computer programs for commercial driver's license. Sivils is suspected of changing the information on the Transportation Cabinet's database to make it look like Roe passed a failed test.

Authorities say a circuit court clerk found Roe's certification, and called police.

Correction Officer Dana Williams Arrested for Grand Larceny

A New York City correction officer from Huntington Station was arrested yesterday on charges that she submitted false doctor's reports and illegally collected about $50,000 in sick pay, officials said.

The charges against Dana Williams, 36, include third-degree grand larceny, 14 counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, and 14 counts of falsifying business records, officials said.

The Department of Investigation said Williams submitted documents that contained false doctor's reports.

Williams, who makes $68,475 a year, was suspended without pay pending resolution of the charges, officials said.

Former Trooper Charlene Green Arrested for Writing Fraudulent Citations

FALL BRANCH, Tenn.

Former Claiborne County Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Charlene Green, 32, was arrested and currently faces 77 felony counts on charges that she wrote fraudulent citations, according to a Tennessee Department of Safety release.

Greene resigned from her job in October instead of being terminated after she was accused of neglecting her duty by failing to submit traffic citations to courts of record, according to the Tennessee Department of Safety.

The THP launched a formal investigation into Green's alleged actions.

"After cross-checking other citations turned in by Green with those on file at the Clerk’s Office, investigators discovered that Green wrote dozens of “fake” tickets, sometimes using information of individuals she issued tickets to years ago," according to the THP release. "In one case, Green is accused of using the name of a driver she issued a ticket to in 2004. She allegedly forged his name on four citations she turned in to her superiors in February, March and July of 2008."

"In all, CID agents were able to determine that from January 12, 2008, through September 2, 2008, Green wrote a total of 60 fraudulent citations involving 28 individuals," the release states.

Green faces 38 counts of forgery, 38 counts of false reporting and one count of official misconduct.

Green was assigned to Claiborne County in the Fall Branch District after being commissioned in January 2004, according the TDOS release.

Officer Vinnie Edwards Charged with Falsely Reporting Crash

A Cincinnati police officer is out on bond after being arrested Tuesday and charged with falsely reporting a crash after a dispute involving her personal car.

Vinnie Edwards, 49, is charged with tampering with records, forgery and unauthorized use of property following an Aug. 22 incident in the parking lot of the Hyde Park Kroger store.

Edwards’ personal car, a black 2007 Ford Fusion, was hit on the front passenger door with a shopping cart that was being used by a man.

The man and Edwards exchanged information at the time and Edwards later sent him an estimate for the damage.

Shocked that the estimate was for more than $900, the man reviewed the estimate more closely and saw that it was for more than the nick the shopping cart caused on her door.

Edwards responded, a Hamilton County indictment alleges, by running the man’s name through the national crime database to check on his criminal record – even though the man wasn’t charged in the incident.

She also is accused of filing a crash report of the incident with the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles even though there was no crash.

Edwards was in court Tuesday and released on her own recognizance. She was suspended without pay following her arrest.

She was hired as a Cincinnati police officer in June 1992 – four months after, records show, she was charged with falsification. It’s unclear what the outcome of that charge was.

Edwards is a patrol officer in the police department’s District 1 that encompasses Downtown, West End, Over-the-Rhine and other nearby areas.

The charges against Edwards carry a maximum prison term of seven years.

Officer Amado Martinez Charged with Forgery and Theft

FLORENCE, AZ

An officer with the Pinal County Jail has been arrested Friday by invesigators with the attorney's office on theft charges.

A system of checks and balances at the jail triggered suspicions from a staff member of the alleged theft of inmate money.

The staff member filed a complaint with the Pinal County Attorney's Office, requesting an investigation into the matter.

The investigation resulted in Amado Martinez being charged with forgery, theft and identity theft.

Martinez has been booked into the Pinal County Jail with a $100,000 bond.


http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/09/19/20080919evbriefs0920.html

Probation Officer Arrested on Theft and Forgery

A current and former employee of Cameron County's Probation Department have been arrested on theft and forgery charges after they were accused of selling $70,000 worth of forged Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark passes.

Sylvia Gonzalez, 37, and Angela Garcia, 32, both of Brownsville, were released on $7,500 personal recognizance bonds following their Monday arrests and arraignments, officials said.

Investigators believe the women sold approximately 600 forged Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark passes this year alone, said Jason Moody, spokesman for the District Attorney's office.

Schlitterbahn officials are conducting an audit to determine if any fake passes might have been sold in previous years.

Gonzalez was arrested at the probation office where she worked as an office clerk. It is not immediately known where Garcia was arrested.

Garcia resigned from her job as a probation officer two weeks ago.

Gonzalez will most likely be suspended with or without pay depending on the circumstances of her case, Human Resources Director Manuel Villarreal said.

Gonzalez's and Garcia's arrests are the result of a month-long investigation by the Cameron County District Attorney's Office Special Operations Group.

The district attorney's office had been contacted by Schlitterbahn employee, Mike Bigelow, director of marketing and sales, who alleged that numerous season passes had been copied and forged.

Bigelow stated that the passes were similar to the ones sold by the county's Human Resources Department to county employees at a discount.

A preliminary investigation shows that Gonzalez and Garcia were allegedly selling adult passes at $30 to $45 and passes for children at $25 to $40. The adult passes normally sell for $99, and season passes for children sell for $69.

Commenting on the arrest and charges, District Attorney Armando Villalobos said, he is disappointed with the situation in which " a few bad apples have taken advantage of a county perk for illicit gain... we are deeply offended that it included persons associated with law enforcement. We will seek jail time."

Authorities urge anyone who may have bought forged passes to contact the district attorney's office.

Police Sergeant Arrested for Racketeering and Forgery Charges

A former Gwinnett County police sergeant has been arrested on racketeering and forgery charges related to a used-car selling scheme, authorities announced Friday.

Michael James Saunders, who resigned from the department last month after 18 years of service, was allegedly buying and selling used vehicles without a dealer's license, said Cpl. Illana Spellman, spokeswoman for the Gwinnett County Police Department. Georgia allows a maximum of five vehicles to be sold privately each year without a license.

Saunders, 48, is also accused of forging signatures on documents involving the ownership of his vehicles.

Police said a citizen complaint to the internal affairs unit prompted an investigation which lasted two months, culminating in Saunders' arrest Thursday at his home in Duluth.

Saunders is charged with one count of first-degree forgery, two counts of violation of oath of office, one count of racketeering, one count of false statement in application and three counts of illegally selling used vehicles.

Saunders was a shift supervisor for the South precinct in Lilburn. The South Precinct serves a 116 square mile area in the the southwest corner of Gwinnett, which includes the city of Grayson as well as unincorporated areas of Tucker, Lilburn, Stone Mountain, Centerville, Snellville, Loganville, and Lawrenceville.

He is being held on $103,900 bond at the Gwinnett jail.

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.