Post by WaTcHeR on Jul 14, 2006 17:29:33 GMT -5
07.14.2006 - AUBURN - A former Cayuga County sheriff's deputy said he was in the middle of a nervous breakdown when he filed claims for overtime hours that he didn't work in 2005.
“Never ... did I think I would be on this side of the bench,” John J. Schlegel said as he addressed Cayuga County Judge Peter Corning Thursday. “I was going through a lot of personal problems. I was having a nervous breakdown both personally and professionally. I was in desperate need of money.”
Schlegel admitted his guilt in bilking at least $1,000 from Cayuga County with his plea to the felony crime of fourth-degree grand larceny.
The stress of a police officer's life, as well as family, marital and financial problems, compromised Schlegel's judgment, said Paul Carey, Schlegel's Syracuse attorney.
Carey said his client is a good man who gave more than 20 years of top-notch service, including serving on the county's SWAT team and running its Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. But Schlegel was melting down under the stress of his personal life and the strain of his duties, Carey said.
“He's someone the community can be very proud of and should be behind him and realize he folded to the stresses in his life,” Carey said. “Otherwise, he has given 20 years of exemplary service. Maybe it's a good starting point to show that men and women serving us day and night need help.”
Corning did not make a commitment about what he will sentence Schlegel to.
Carey said he will ask for a conditional discharge for Schlegel at his 10 a.m. Aug. 24 sentencing and that a probation term would be a waste of taxpayer money. He also said Schlegel - who is employed in another workplace now - is more than willing to pay restitution.
Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Whitman, the main prosecutor handling the case, said she will recommend Schlegel be sentenced to probation and community service.
The probation would ensure monitoring of Schlegel's restitution payments, she said. The community service would ensure Schlegel “gives back to the community for stealing money from that very community,” Whitman said.
Whitman said she does not normally recommend state prison time for first-time grand larceny offenders.
Schlegel entered the plea after Carey and Whitman met in Corning's chambers. The two had been negotiating a disposition of the case outside of court.
Schlegel, a 21-year veteran of the department's patrol division, was arrested Nov. 15 by co-workers after Lt. Jim Langler found a discrepancy in Schlegel's overtime slips. Within a week, Schlegel resigned.
In his police interview with Detective Sgt. Joseph Weeks, the supervisor of the office's criminal investigations unit, Schlegel estimated he turned in a half-dozen slips that said he covered a shift he did not work and that in another half-dozen instances he copied the signature of a supervisor off a payroll slip and traced it onto an overtime slip he'd filled out for a shift he did not work.
An outside prosecutor in the case was first sought by former Cayuga County Legislature Chairman Herb Marshall. Marshall tried two different agencies before turning over documents alleging payroll fraud by other sheriff's employees to Cayuga County District Attorney James Vargason.
Vargason sought a special prosecutor - which Corning granted in December - to prosecute Schlegel and investigate the allegations of overtime fraud by other employees.
The investigation by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, along with the New York State Police, is continuing, Whitman said.
Whitman said that investigation will be completed soon but would not say whether or not more arrests are expected.
Schlegel's conduct did not involve any conspiracy with co-workers, she said.
“Schlegel was not involved in anything but stealing money for himself,” she said.
Cayuga County Sheriff Rob Outhouse said he met Thursday with Whitman after Schlegel's guilty plea, but he declined further public comment with Schlegel's sentencing still pending.
www.auburnpub.com/articles/2006/07/14/news/local_news/news02.txt
“Never ... did I think I would be on this side of the bench,” John J. Schlegel said as he addressed Cayuga County Judge Peter Corning Thursday. “I was going through a lot of personal problems. I was having a nervous breakdown both personally and professionally. I was in desperate need of money.”
Schlegel admitted his guilt in bilking at least $1,000 from Cayuga County with his plea to the felony crime of fourth-degree grand larceny.
The stress of a police officer's life, as well as family, marital and financial problems, compromised Schlegel's judgment, said Paul Carey, Schlegel's Syracuse attorney.
Carey said his client is a good man who gave more than 20 years of top-notch service, including serving on the county's SWAT team and running its Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. But Schlegel was melting down under the stress of his personal life and the strain of his duties, Carey said.
“He's someone the community can be very proud of and should be behind him and realize he folded to the stresses in his life,” Carey said. “Otherwise, he has given 20 years of exemplary service. Maybe it's a good starting point to show that men and women serving us day and night need help.”
Corning did not make a commitment about what he will sentence Schlegel to.
Carey said he will ask for a conditional discharge for Schlegel at his 10 a.m. Aug. 24 sentencing and that a probation term would be a waste of taxpayer money. He also said Schlegel - who is employed in another workplace now - is more than willing to pay restitution.
Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Whitman, the main prosecutor handling the case, said she will recommend Schlegel be sentenced to probation and community service.
The probation would ensure monitoring of Schlegel's restitution payments, she said. The community service would ensure Schlegel “gives back to the community for stealing money from that very community,” Whitman said.
Whitman said she does not normally recommend state prison time for first-time grand larceny offenders.
Schlegel entered the plea after Carey and Whitman met in Corning's chambers. The two had been negotiating a disposition of the case outside of court.
Schlegel, a 21-year veteran of the department's patrol division, was arrested Nov. 15 by co-workers after Lt. Jim Langler found a discrepancy in Schlegel's overtime slips. Within a week, Schlegel resigned.
In his police interview with Detective Sgt. Joseph Weeks, the supervisor of the office's criminal investigations unit, Schlegel estimated he turned in a half-dozen slips that said he covered a shift he did not work and that in another half-dozen instances he copied the signature of a supervisor off a payroll slip and traced it onto an overtime slip he'd filled out for a shift he did not work.
An outside prosecutor in the case was first sought by former Cayuga County Legislature Chairman Herb Marshall. Marshall tried two different agencies before turning over documents alleging payroll fraud by other sheriff's employees to Cayuga County District Attorney James Vargason.
Vargason sought a special prosecutor - which Corning granted in December - to prosecute Schlegel and investigate the allegations of overtime fraud by other employees.
The investigation by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, along with the New York State Police, is continuing, Whitman said.
Whitman said that investigation will be completed soon but would not say whether or not more arrests are expected.
Schlegel's conduct did not involve any conspiracy with co-workers, she said.
“Schlegel was not involved in anything but stealing money for himself,” she said.
Cayuga County Sheriff Rob Outhouse said he met Thursday with Whitman after Schlegel's guilty plea, but he declined further public comment with Schlegel's sentencing still pending.
www.auburnpub.com/articles/2006/07/14/news/local_news/news02.txt