Truesee's Daily Wonder

Truesee presents the weird, wild, wacky and world news of the day.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

 

17 police officers charged in kickback scheme with towing company

More than 30 Baltimore police officers charged, suspended in towing scheme

Federal authorities say cops allegedly got kickbacks from towing operator

 

Justin Fenton, Peter Hermann and Julie Scharper

The Baltimore Sun 11:02 p.m. EST

February 23, 2011

Seventeen Baltimore police officers were charged Wednesday — and more than a dozen others suspended — in an extortion scheme in which officers are accused of receiving thousands of dollars in kickbacks for steering accident victims to a towing company that was not authorized to do business with the city.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III helped make the arrests, summoning the officers to the department's training academy under the guise of an equipment inspection. There, he and the special agent in charge of the FBI's Baltimore field office, Richard A. McFeely, lined them up and took their badges.

"I'm here to reclaim our badge," Bealefeld said he told them.

In a 41-page criminal complaint and afternoon news conference, federal authorities outlined a broad scheme in which the officers are accused of conspiring for two years with brothers Hernan Alexis Moreno Mejia and Edwin Javier Mejia, owners of Majestic Auto Repair Shop in Rosedale.

In all, more than 30 officers are accused of being involved in one of the department's largest scandals in recent memory. The arrests and suspensions will also effectively take a large number of officers off the streets at a time when the department is struggling to replenish its ranks after a rash of departures.

At least 14 officers who were not charged have been implicated in the investigation and will have suspension hearings Thursday afternoon, police said. The officers charged in the case could receive prison sentences of up to 20 years and up to $250,000 fines if convicted.

"I expect all City employees to serve the public with the highest level of integrity, and I will not tolerate criminal or unethical activity by any city employee," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake in a statement.

After a community meeting at Patterson High School in Southeast Baltimore, she told a group of reporters that she was "certainly disappointed" by the charges but was "gratified" that the such practices would not be tolerated.

A network of 13 towing companies, referred to as the "medallion towers," have contracts with the city, some for as long as three decades, to haul away cars involved in accidents or illegally parked on public right-of-ways. Majestic is not one of those companies.

Authorities allege that the officers involved, upon being dispatched to an accident, would contact one of the Majestic tow company owners by cell phone rather than allow drivers to use a company of their choice or calling one of the city's authorized companies.

If the Majestic owner wanted the car, the officer would then tell the driver that he knew a tow operator who could help save him money, provide a rental car and waive the insurance deductible. The complaint says the officer would persuade car owners to "not call their insurance company until after speaking" with the tow company.

The complaint alleges that the officer would then either falsify a police report, noting that the owner had requested his own tow company, or leave that box unchecked. For each car delivered, the court documents say, an officer received $300. One officer pocketed more than $14,000 over two years, according to Rod J. Rosenstein, the U.S. attorney for Maryland.

"Police officers are supposed to work for the Police Department, not the highest bidder," Rosenstein said.

The Baltimore case began with an internal investigation, which was handed off to the FBI, officials said.

Bealefeld told reporters at a news conference at the Maryland U.S. attorney's office that he thought for months about how he would explain the arrests to the residents of Baltimore. He said he wanted the arrests done in a "very deliberate way" that was "meaningful and respectful," but that also sent a stern message to the 3,000-member department.

Some have said they had long suspected and voiced concerns about towing companies not playing by the rules.

Paula Protani, who heads an association of the 13 medallion towing companies, said she had lodged numerous complaints about Majestic over the past three years — and at one point was arrested after confronting an officer at a crash scene, spending eight hours in Central Booking before being released without charges.

Protani provided to The Baltimore Sun a copy of the police report, which lists an arresting officer not named in the criminal complaint. Police said they were looking into the claim.

The medallion tow companies have contracts with the city that, in many cases, stretch back for decades. The companies pay a small annual licensing fee — Protani said it was around $500 — and have exclusive rights to tow cars that have been in accidents or are illegally parked in the city. The companies charge $130 to tow vehicles east of Charles Street and $140 to tow on the west side. The city does not receive a portion of the fee for the tows but collects money through tickets and storage fees.

Protani said she believes many other "gypsy" tow companies circumvent the city's tow rules, but that Majestic was the most egregious example.

"This gives all the good, honest tow companies out there a black eye," said Protani. "We're like lawyers — nobody likes a tow company until they need [one]."

No one was at Majestic on Wednesday afternoon, and a voice mail recording for the business confirmed it was closed. "There is a business emergency," the recording said, adding, "we promise to give everyone a call back."

Robert F. Cherry, president of the city's Fraternal Order of Police Lodge, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Sgt. Carlos Vila, a member of the FOP's executive board and the head of the Latino officers' group, said that union was planning to support the officers.

"They're dues paying members and it's our obligation to support our members," Vila said. "At this point, these are just allegations. We'll be meeting very soon to discuss with our attorneys how we're going to proceed."

In court Wednesday afternoon, the officers were brought in no more than four at a time. The first four — Michael Lee Cross, Rafael Conception Feliciano Jr., Samuel Ocasio and Henry Yambo — were led into the courtroom in handcuffs by federal agents, and sat behind their attorneys, with whom they conferred as they flipped through the criminal complaint.

The officers were each released without having to post bail and without pre-trial supervision. Those with personal handguns and passports were ordered by U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Paul Grimm to hand them over.

Defense attorneys said it was too early to discuss the case.

"Obviously, nothing is known at this point, and we have to find out what this case is supposed to be about," said defense attorney Thomas Saunders, who was appointed to represent Officer Jhonn S. Corona.

Some of the officers charged have received the department's highest honors in recent years. Officer Rodney Cintron received a Bronze Star in 2009 for helping arrest a man with a .22-caliber long-barrel revolver, while Corona received a Silver Star the same year after returning fire at a man who shot at a fellow officer.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said commanders plan to move officers from the Community Stabilization Unit to the Northeast District to make up for the disproportionate number of officers there who were suspended or charged. The commander retired this year, and the district has experienced the most homicides in the city so far this year.

The investigation dates to at least January 2009, records show. The investigation included wiretaps and surveillance of the tow truck company owners and their Rosedale lot.

In one exchange included in documents, Officer Rafael Concepcion Feliciano Jr. sent a text message to Moreno, one of Majestic's owners, that said: "Hey bro, did everything go through with both cars cause I need some cash today? Im tight with money and want to get some things before work later."

On Tuesday, police officials issued a bulletin asking the officers in question to report to the training academy. Upon being confronted by Bealefeld and McFeely, they were asked to hand over their badges, which were then turned over to an academy recruit who was allowed to witness the arrests.

The recruit lined them up on the floor as a demonstration to his classmates.

Bealefeld, a 30-year veteran of the city force, told reporters, "I know what service means."

Of the way the arrests were handled, the commissioner said, "You can consider the ramifications of that to infinity."

Baltimore Sun reporter Jessica Anderson contributed to this article.

 

LINK TO VIDEO:

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/videobeta/a14ebebf-a8fc-489e-941f-fd68b8369cca/News/Police-towing-sting-nets-17-police-officers


Comments:
Union members.
Post a Comment

<< Home

Archives

March 2024   February 2024   January 2024   December 2023   November 2023   October 2023   September 2023   August 2023   July 2023   June 2023   May 2023   April 2023   March 2023   February 2023   January 2023   December 2022   November 2022   October 2022   September 2022   August 2022   July 2022   June 2022   May 2022   April 2022   March 2022   February 2022   January 2022   December 2021   November 2021   October 2021   September 2021   August 2021   July 2021   June 2021   May 2021   April 2021   March 2021   February 2021   January 2021   December 2020   November 2020   October 2020   September 2020   August 2020   July 2020   June 2020   May 2020   April 2020   March 2020   February 2020   January 2020   December 2019   November 2019   October 2019   September 2019   August 2019   July 2019   June 2019   May 2019   April 2019   March 2019   February 2019   January 2019   December 2018   November 2018   October 2018   September 2018   August 2018   July 2018   June 2018   May 2018   April 2018   March 2018   February 2018   January 2018   December 2017   November 2017   October 2017   September 2017   August 2017   July 2017   June 2017   May 2017   April 2017   March 2017   February 2017   January 2017   December 2016   November 2016   October 2016   September 2016   August 2016   July 2016   June 2016   May 2016   April 2016   March 2016   February 2016   January 2016   December 2015   November 2015   October 2015   September 2015   August 2015   July 2015   June 2015   May 2015   April 2015   March 2015   February 2015   January 2015   December 2014   November 2014   October 2014   September 2014   August 2014   July 2014   June 2014   May 2014   April 2014   March 2014   February 2014   January 2014   December 2013   November 2013   October 2013   September 2013   August 2013   July 2013   June 2013   May 2013   April 2013   March 2013   February 2013   January 2013   December 2012   November 2012   October 2012   September 2012   August 2012   July 2012   June 2012   May 2012   April 2012   March 2012   February 2012   January 2012   December 2011   November 2011   October 2011   September 2011   August 2011   July 2011   June 2011   May 2011   April 2011   March 2011   February 2011   January 2011   December 2010   November 2010   October 2010   September 2010   August 2010   July 2010   June 2010   May 2010   April 2010   March 2010   February 2010   January 2010   December 2009   November 2009   October 2009   September 2009   August 2009   July 2009   June 2009   May 2009   April 2009   March 2009   February 2009   January 2009   December 2008  

Powered by Lottery PostSyndicated RSS FeedSubscribe