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| NEWS > 13 March 2007 |
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'Corruption is a problem' – po
RIGA – The top officer in the Latvian police force has admitted that corruption is serious problem among his colleagues – but is confident that the situation will improve.
“The figures are high. It is a problem. I do not think it is easily solved. The situation disturbs me,” said police chief Aldis Lieljuksis, Aug 9.
Lieljuksis said that 13 officers were sentenced on corruption charges during the second quarter of 2007, and that 62 criminal cases have been initiated this year.
He added that the “process will not stop.”
Lieljuksis underscored that... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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Culpeper Star Exponent - Culpe
13 March 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Culpeper County Sheriff, VA
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Sheriff under investigation
The Virginia State Police is investigating Culpeper County Sheriff H. Lee Hart as a result of accusations filed nearly three years ago by his current political rival.
Scott Jenkins, a sergeant with the Culpeper Police Department and former investigator with the Sheriff’s Office, is running for sheriff in November’s election. Hart, in office since 2000, has yet to announce his candidacy.
On Monday, the State Police confirmed the investigation and Jenkins outlined his case. Hart denied the accusations and pointed to election-year politics.
“Last week I spoke with a Virginia State Police representative,” said Hart, who refused to discuss the matter in detail with the Star-Exponent. “They are going to handle this very professionally and we are going to assist them any way possible.”
The allegations stem from reports Jenkins made in 2004 to the State Police and Culpeper County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gary Close. Jenkins, who resigned from the Sheriff’s Office in June 2004, said he made the complaints before his departure and immediately afterward.
Specifically, Jenkins stated that:
-In December 2002, Hart purchased a county-owned Sig Sauer Model 229 pistol for $250. One year earlier, the Sheriff’s Office had bought the gun for $700.
Jenkins, 35, said the county never authorized that sale but did authorize the sale of 20-year-old Smith & Wesson handguns for the replacement of new Sig Sauer handguns. Jenkins provided documentation supporting the sale, complete with a serial number and transaction record from Snooky’s Sporting Goods. A November 2002 memo, written by Hart, stated he reviewed the options to dispose of the Smith &Wesson duty guns the Sheriff’s Office was replacing and would first offer them for sale in-house.
If Hart’s purchase was justified, Jenkins wants to know who authorized it.
Hart said he will not discuss the allegations to prevent jeopardizing the integrity of the State Police investigation. “I’m not going to discuss anything,” he said. “It’s an ongoing investigation right now.”
-Hart knew about a lieutenant in the criminal investigations division who ordered investigators to falsify reports and lie about exculpatory evidence in a 2003 homicide case. Jenkins said the lieutenant was allowed to continue as a deputy for three years until his retirement.
-In July 2003 Jenkins took over the investigations division. He said he spoke with an investigator regarding overtime hours. The investigator told Jenkins that Hart offered him up to 25 hours of overtime pay without justification. He needed more money to provide for his family but Hart wasn’t able to give him a raise, Jenkins said.
-In March 2004, Jenkins said Hart gave him information concerning a possible witness in the unsolved 1996 Alicia Showalter Reynolds murder case. Hart asked Jenkins to investigate without the State Police knowing, he said.
“I stated that action without notification could not only jeopardize the VSP case, but also the safety of an informant or officer,” Jenkins wrote in the letter. He added that he informed the VSP, which prompted higher-ranking officials to relay the information to the investigating agency.
- In April 2004, Jenkins said an investigator complained of a sexual relationship between a patrol deputy and a 17-year-old girl who was in the deputy’s care as a law enforcement explorer - a program designed to give teenagers an idea of what law enforcement entails.
Jenkins said he discussed the allegation with a captain, who said he and the sheriff were aware but no internal affairs investigation would be conducted. Jenkins said state law requires a social services investigation of any allegation against a caretaker.
He added that citizens and Sheriff’s Office personnel reported a relationship between the two, which openly continued until after the girl’s 18th birthday. However, no reports were filed with the commonwealth’s attorney, social services or internal affairs, Jenkins said.
- Jenkins also stated that Hart repeatedly used taxpayer money and equipment, such as Sheriff’s Office supplies and gasoline, for personal use and interests.
History and chronology
The now public allegations were never meant to make it to the media, Jenkins said.
In December, he wrote a letter to every employee of the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office notifying them of his intention to run for office in the 2007 election. If anyone had questions, he wrote, his door was always open. The letter was not sent to Sheriff Hart or any other public officials.
The crux of the letter contains Jenkins’ background, experience and why he intended to run for office. One paragraph indicated there might be questions regarding his resignation from the Sheriff’s Office in 2004. “Let me be clear,” he wrote. “I left because of unethical and illegal conduct.”
Five days later, Hart wrote a reply and copied it to the town manager and town and county attorneys. In his reply, Hart urged Jenkins to meet with him to verify the allegations so appropriate legal action could be taken.
“Through concealing an alleged crime, you have not only violated your oath but depending on the allegation, may have allowed the statute of limitations to expire and justice not to have been served,” Hart wrote. “Your failure to report this activity most certainly calls into question your personal integrity and causes one to ponder what else you might decide to ignore if you were to be elected.”
On Jan. 4 Jenkins sent Hart and other government officials a four-page letter, spelling out the allegations and stating that Hart knew of the wrongdoing but did not take action.
Jenkins said he discussed many of the allegations with Hart the day he resigned but said Hart had little response except to change the subject. Jenkins also reported the same concerns to Commonwealth’s Attorney Gary Close.
Close did not return phone calls made to his home Monday.
Investigation
According to state law, an investigation of a sheriff’s office must be approved by the Attorney General’s Office, Jenkins said.
Months after Jenkins filed his complaints in 2004, he said he received a voicemail from an assistant to the attorney general. After repeated attempts to return the call, Jenkins was never successful in discussing the allegations with the attorney general’s office.
“I have no control over what the attorney general, State Police and commonwealth’s attorney do,” Jenkins said. “I reported it in ’04 and never made a new complaint since then.”
A few months ago, Jenkins said, he was contacted both by the State Police and an agent with the FBI regarding the allegations.
Jenkins is not sure why the investigation is only beginning now but insists it is not a political game and simply inopportune timing. If he had his way, he would prefer the investigation wait until the election was over, he said.
Hart says timing is interesting and implied the recent turn of events is the beginnings of election-year politics.
“These are cold, hard facts as they happened and they can be verified,” Jenkins said. “This is the highest law enforcement officer of the county, and he’s not held to the same standards as a rookie because he’s ‘being a victim of politics’ - and that’s not what it is.”
The allegations against Sheriff Hart
In a Jan. 4 letter to Culpeper County Sheriff H. Lee Hart and state and local officials, Culpeper Police Sgt. Scott Jenkins accused Hart of rampant corruption. Jenkins is running for sheriff in November’s election. The Virginia State Police is now investigating, and Jenkins said the FBI also interviewed him. Jenkins accuses the sheriff of:
-Inaction regarding a retired lieutenant who ordered investigators, including Jenkins, to falsify reports and lie about evidence in the 2003 Hazel Washington homicide case
-Protecting a patrol deputy accused of having sex with a 17-year-old girl in his care as a law enforcement explorer
-Awarding unearned overtime pay for select deputies
-Illegally purchasing from the county a one-year-old county handgun for about 35 percent of its original cost
-Withholding information from the Virginia State Police regarding its investigation of the unsolved 1996 Alicia Showalter Reynolds murder case
-Using taxpayer money and equipment, such as Sheriff’s Office supplies and gasoline, for personal use and interests
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