plus 1, Temp jobs help fuel N.J. economic recovery - Daily Journal |
| Temp jobs help fuel N.J. economic recovery - Daily Journal Posted: Derrick Williams of Somerset, a temporary employee at Samar Distributors in Edison, checks inventory before it is shipped out to customers. / Gannet New Jersey photo
Written byJAKE REMALY |
| Lawyer: Delco officers will battle for their jobs in cheating scandal - Delaware County Daily Times Posted: An attorney representing 12 of 15 municipal police officers who lost their state certifications for cheating on a training test in 2009 said Friday, "The punishment doesn't meet the crime." S. Stanton Miller has been representing police officers for the Fraternal Order of Police for 20 years. "I've never seen anything like this," Miller said, referring to the revocation notices issued Thursday by the Municipal Police Officers' Education & Training Commission involving 15 officers from eight departments in Delaware County and one in Chester County. Friday morning, Pennsylvania State Police released the names of the 15 officers and their departments. They are: Francis Ely Jr. and Richard Fuller, both of the Brookhaven Police Department; David Cuddhy, Kenneth Collins, Robert Barbour and Timothy Hannigan, all of the Darby Borough Police Department; Michael Irey of the Nether Providence Police Department; Ian Cleghorn of the Ridley Park Police Department; Mark Heine of the Ridley Township Police Department; Jonathan Freeman and Sean Gallagher, of the Trainer Police Department; Kevin Cosentino of the Upper Darby Police Department; Brian Boyd, Daniel DiNardo and Michael Curran, all of the Upland Police Department. In addition to Trainer, Gallagher was also working for the Oxford Borough Police Department in Chester County at the time. He has also worked part time in Eddystone. The "permanent revocations of police officer certification was effective March 10," state police spokesman Jack Lewis stated in a brief release issued Friday morning. The move effectively renders them civilians with no law enforcement powers. According to Lewis, an investigation began in February 2009 that resulted in the initiation of revocation proceedings. Officers were given administration hearings under commission regulations, he stated. Commission members voted Thursday during a quarterly meeting, held March 8-10, in Grantville. "They all have an absolute right of appeal," Miller said Friday. Continued... Miller said he would be filing individual appeals for his 12 clients with the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania by the end of next week. "Revocation currently is a death sentence, career wise," Miller said. "Who might deserve a death penalty, career wise?" Cheating is one reason. Conviction of a crime for which the penalty is greater than two years is another, according to Miller. In other words, Miller said, an officer who is arrested, prosecuted and pleads or is convicted of a crime, but is sentenced to less than two years, cannot be decertified under MPOETC regulations. Miller questioned the fairness in this situation. The cheating investigation was led by two civilian employees of MPOETC, under the supervision of State Police Maj. John Gallaher, according to Miller. The 15 officers were among a total of 52 in the required In-Service Act 180 recertification class, which was held at the Delaware County Community College campus on Malin Road in Broomall. "They're all devastated," Miller said of the officers. One theory advanced during the investigation was that two different versions of a test were co-mingled, and not all members of the class took the same test, Miller said. When officers taking one of the tests turned in sheets that had eight of 10 answers wrong — but were the correct answers on the version given to the rest of the class — Miller said MPOETC concluded they must have had the answers to one test that they mistakenly used on another one. Continued... "That's it, no other evidence," Miller said. "It's absurd." Miller said some officers in the class received an unsolicited e-mail, but didn't know what it was and deleted it. "MPOETC's theory is if you got an unsolicited e-mail, you then have possession and their position is you violated the commission's policy," Miller said. Miller said he wants to see all 52 of the original tests. "They don't know what happened to them," he said, referring to MPOETC. The officers in question all took a retest and passed, according to Miller. None of the 12 officers Miller represents admitted to cheating. He also said he saw no competent evidence against the officers, either during the initial questioning or the administration hearings. "A fair way to handle it would have been to produce evidence that clearly showed an officer violated the commission's policy on cheating, not speculation," Miller said. Miller said officers were asked early in the investigation if they would take a polygraph, but were never given the tests. When he asked why at the administration hearings, Miller said he was told by the examiners that after conferring with their attorneys, they determined they had sufficient evidence to move ahead. Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said when he first learned of the scandal 18 months ago, he took Cosentino off street duty. Once he read the transcripts of the administration hearing — which were provided to him by Miller — he put Cosentino back on the street because he saw no conclusive evidence. "After I reviewed the transcript, I felt they had nothing that substantiated the charge of cheating," Chitwood said. "It was bull—-." Continued... According to Chitwood and sources, the notification letters did not offer any explanation, the process in which the decision was made, nor any recourse the officers might have. "What it means is right now, he's not able to perform the duties of a police officer," Chitwood said. "As a township, we want to see what our options are. Until we figure out what is going on, he will continue to work in a civilian capacity," Chitwood said. "He will maintain his police salary and benefits until we see our options." He described Cosentino as a nine-year veteran with an excellent record. Chitwood said the officer denied cheating or having had answers to a test. Miller commended Chitwood for his accuracy, truthfulness and forthrightness. "I guarantee his assessment of that hearing transcript is 1,000 percent accurate," Miller said. State police initially identified Heine as a member of Ridley Park and later corrected the press release. Before the correction was issued, Ridley Township Police Capt. Charles Howley confirmed Heine was a member of his department. "They're decertifying people and they don't even know where they are from," a ranking officer from another department said, criticizing MPOETC. An attorney representing 12 of 15 municipal police officers who lost their state certifications for cheating on a training test in 2009 said Friday, "The punishment doesn't meet the crime." S. Stanton Miller has been representing police officers for the Fraternal Order of Police for 20 years. "I've never seen anything like this," Miller said, referring to the revocation notices issued Thursday by the Municipal Police Officers' Education & Training Commission involving 15 officers from eight departments in Delaware County and one in Chester County. Friday morning, Pennsylvania State Police released the names of the 15 officers and their departments. They are: Francis Ely Jr. and Richard Fuller, both of the Brookhaven Police Department; David Cuddhy, Kenneth Collins, Robert Barbour and Timothy Hannigan, all of the Darby Borough Police Department; Michael Irey of the Nether Providence Police Department; Ian Cleghorn of the Ridley Park Police Department; Mark Heine of the Ridley Township Police Department; Jonathan Freeman and Sean Gallagher, of the Trainer Police Department; Kevin Cosentino of the Upper Darby Police Department; Brian Boyd, Daniel DiNardo and Michael Curran, all of the Upland Police Department. In addition to Trainer, Gallagher was also working for the Oxford Borough Police Department in Chester County at the time. He has also worked part time in Eddystone. The "permanent revocations of police officer certification was effective March 10," state police spokesman Jack Lewis stated in a brief release issued Friday morning. The move effectively renders them civilians with no law enforcement powers. According to Lewis, an investigation began in February 2009 that resulted in the initiation of revocation proceedings. Officers were given administration hearings under commission regulations, he stated. Commission members voted Thursday during a quarterly meeting, held March 8-10, in Grantville. "They all have an absolute right of appeal," Miller said Friday. Miller said he would be filing individual appeals for his 12 clients with the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania by the end of next week. "Revocation currently is a death sentence, career wise," Miller said. "Who might deserve a death penalty, career wise?" Cheating is one reason. Conviction of a crime for which the penalty is greater than two years is another, according to Miller. In other words, Miller said, an officer who is arrested, prosecuted and pleads or is convicted of a crime, but is sentenced to less than two years, cannot be decertified under MPOETC regulations. Miller questioned the fairness in this situation. The cheating investigation was led by two civilian employees of MPOETC, under the supervision of State Police Maj. John Gallaher, according to Miller. The 15 officers were among a total of 52 in the required In-Service Act 180 recertification class, which was held at the Delaware County Community College campus on Malin Road in Broomall. "They're all devastated," Miller said of the officers. One theory advanced during the investigation was that two different versions of a test were co-mingled, and not all members of the class took the same test, Miller said. When officers taking one of the tests turned in sheets that had eight of 10 answers wrong — but were the correct answers on the version given to the rest of the class — Miller said MPOETC concluded they must have had the answers to one test that they mistakenly used on another one. "That's it, no other evidence," Miller said. "It's absurd." Miller said some officers in the class received an unsolicited e-mail, but didn't know what it was and deleted it. "MPOETC's theory is if you got an unsolicited e-mail, you then have possession and their position is you violated the commission's policy," Miller said. Miller said he wants to see all 52 of the original tests. "They don't know what happened to them," he said, referring to MPOETC. The officers in question all took a retest and passed, according to Miller. None of the 12 officers Miller represents admitted to cheating. He also said he saw no competent evidence against the officers, either during the initial questioning or the administration hearings. "A fair way to handle it would have been to produce evidence that clearly showed an officer violated the commission's policy on cheating, not speculation," Miller said. Miller said officers were asked early in the investigation if they would take a polygraph, but were never given the tests. When he asked why at the administration hearings, Miller said he was told by the examiners that after conferring with their attorneys, they determined they had sufficient evidence to move ahead. Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said when he first learned of the scandal 18 months ago, he took Cosentino off street duty. Once he read the transcripts of the administration hearing — which were provided to him by Miller — he put Cosentino back on the street because he saw no conclusive evidence. "After I reviewed the transcript, I felt they had nothing that substantiated the charge of cheating," Chitwood said. "It was bull—-." According to Chitwood and sources, the notification letters did not offer any explanation, the process in which the decision was made, nor any recourse the officers might have. "What it means is right now, he's not able to perform the duties of a police officer," Chitwood said. "As a township, we want to see what our options are. Until we figure out what is going on, he will continue to work in a civilian capacity," Chitwood said. "He will maintain his police salary and benefits until we see our options." He described Cosentino as a nine-year veteran with an excellent record. Chitwood said the officer denied cheating or having had answers to a test. Miller commended Chitwood for his accuracy, truthfulness and forthrightness. "I guarantee his assessment of that hearing transcript is 1,000 percent accurate," Miller said. State police initially identified Heine as a member of Ridley Park and later corrected the press release. Before the correction was issued, Ridley Township Police Capt. Charles Howley confirmed Heine was a member of his department. "They're decertifying people and they don't even know where they are from," a ranking officer from another department said, criticizing MPOETC. 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