Post by KC on Jul 29, 2006 21:28:08 GMT -5
July 29, 2006 - 65-year-old Cleveland police sergeant was charged Friday in connection with an overtime abuse probe.
Sgt. John Mokri, a 36-year veteran, was charged with two counts of tampering with records -- a misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and $1,000 fine.
Mokri did not return calls to comment on the indictment.
The Fraternal Order of Police, which represents officers, declined to comment, saying it didn't have details on the case.
Mokri is the second officer charged as part of the probe headed by Lt. James Muhic and special prosecutor Lynn Grimshaw, the former Scioto County prosecutor. The probe was prompted by a Plain Dealer investigation.
Retired Sgt. Allen J. Travis was indicted in January in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on a theft in office charge, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He is scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 6.
After The Plain Dealer detailed police abuses of overtime in 2004, then-Mayor Jane Campbell ordered an investigation. Investigators found that Mokri filed for overtime 57 times, claiming he was meeting with Robert Cummings, executive secretary for Bluecoats, an organization that helps families of dead police officers, according to the investigators' report.
But Cummings told investigators he did not recall any meetings with Mokri after normal work hours.
Mokri's overtime cards were signed by Deputy Chief Timothy Hennessy even though Mokri did not work for him. Hennessy told investigators that former Chief Ed Lohn asked him to sign Mokri's overtime cards, according to the report.
Hennessy told investigators that he was "between a rock and a hard place."
Lohn has denied playing any role in Mokri's overtime claims, but investigators found the denial to be "lacking in credibility and against the weight of the evidence," according to the report.
Lohn and Hennessy have not been charged with crimes, but Campbell demoted Lohn to captain in March 2005 and gave the post to the current chief, Michael McGrath.
Mokri is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Common Pleas Court.
www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1154161940182370.xml&coll=2
Sgt. John Mokri, a 36-year veteran, was charged with two counts of tampering with records -- a misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and $1,000 fine.
Mokri did not return calls to comment on the indictment.
The Fraternal Order of Police, which represents officers, declined to comment, saying it didn't have details on the case.
Mokri is the second officer charged as part of the probe headed by Lt. James Muhic and special prosecutor Lynn Grimshaw, the former Scioto County prosecutor. The probe was prompted by a Plain Dealer investigation.
Retired Sgt. Allen J. Travis was indicted in January in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on a theft in office charge, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He is scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 6.
After The Plain Dealer detailed police abuses of overtime in 2004, then-Mayor Jane Campbell ordered an investigation. Investigators found that Mokri filed for overtime 57 times, claiming he was meeting with Robert Cummings, executive secretary for Bluecoats, an organization that helps families of dead police officers, according to the investigators' report.
But Cummings told investigators he did not recall any meetings with Mokri after normal work hours.
Mokri's overtime cards were signed by Deputy Chief Timothy Hennessy even though Mokri did not work for him. Hennessy told investigators that former Chief Ed Lohn asked him to sign Mokri's overtime cards, according to the report.
Hennessy told investigators that he was "between a rock and a hard place."
Lohn has denied playing any role in Mokri's overtime claims, but investigators found the denial to be "lacking in credibility and against the weight of the evidence," according to the report.
Lohn and Hennessy have not been charged with crimes, but Campbell demoted Lohn to captain in March 2005 and gave the post to the current chief, Michael McGrath.
Mokri is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Common Pleas Court.
www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1154161940182370.xml&coll=2