Berks Constables, Secretary Charged in No-Work Scheme

[ChamberedRound]

From the Reading Eagle:

http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=106848

Two Berks constables, district judge's secretary charged in billing taxpayers in no-work scheme
By Dan Kelly
Reading Eagle

Two Berks County constables and a district court clerk were charged Monday in a scheme that used fraudulent documents and altered court computer records to bill the county for work they never performed.

The two constables, Thomas L. Holt of Bernville and Dennis J. "Whip" Mulligan of Reading, were charged with submitting phony bills, seeking reimbursement for arresting and transporting to court people wanted on warrants, even though those defendants told investigators they had never met the two constables.

"The reality was, the persons went to court voluntarily and paid their fine," District Attorney John T. Adams said.

Holt’s wife, Jacqueline Y. Holt, a court clerk in District Judge Michael J. Leonardziak’s Reading office, is charged with altering state computer records to indicate that Holt and Mulligan had arrested and transported defendants to court when records show the person came to court voluntarily to pay a fine.

Adams said Jacqueline Holt has been fired.

State constables are elected and supervised by the president judge of the county in which they are elected.

President Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl issued an order to all district judges to assign no work to Holt or Mulligan until the case is resolved. Schmehl issued a second order restricting all constables and law enforcement officers to public areas of the district courts. The order gives constable and police no greater access to court offices, files and personnel than the general public.

Schmehl said the order was needed to preserve the integrity and independence of the judiciary.

Holt and Mulligan surrendered to prosecutors in District Judge Timothy M. Dougherty’s West Reading office.

Holt was released without bail pending a preliminary hearing. Mulligan was also released without bail but waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Schmehl assigned the cases, which involved several city district courts, to Dougherty’s district to avoid a conflict of interest.

Constables earn money by performing services for district judges, who then approve the bills and submit them to county Controller Sandy Graffius’ office for payment.

Graffius said her staff conducted routine audits of the submitted bills but started taking a harder look at the cost after a Reading Eagle report in March 2005 indicated that Holt in 2004 made more than $216,000. By comparison, the highest paid constable in Lehigh County made about $75,000 that year.

Graffius conducted an audit of Holt’s and other constables’ cost sheets in 2006 and turned up no evidence of wrongdoing.

Earlier this year the Reading Eagle reported that in 2007, Holt and two other constables made about $250,000 and Mulligan was paid more than $120,000.

Graffius said when she ordered a follow-up audit she was armed with tips from other constables and court personnel, including district judges, to look for irregularities on cost sheets that might be red flags.

"We had people telling us to look for certain forms," she said. "We literally see thousands of these forms every year and if you don’t know what to look for, it’s a lot harder."

At this stage in the probe, Adams said, Holt is charged with taking $757 in bogus fees and Mulligan is accused of billing the county $537 for work not performed.

The investigation is ongoing, he said.

• Contact reporter Dan Kelly at 610-371-5040 or at dkelly@readingeagle.com.

[Robert Kayland]

Back in the 6th century, when Justinian assumed control of the Eastern Roman Empire, his first order as Emperor was that every third judge and civil servant be killed.

Corruption disappeared overnight.

/jes' sayin'

[Dredly]

before we start killing off people look at the fine print... (and constables correct me if I'm wrong)

so far they found one guy taking 757 and another taking 537, they made over 250K last year. For a constable, if they get lucky (and my understanding is correct) they can make over 600 bucks on a single suspect depending on how many warrants they have.

Supposedly Berks is really bad for parking tickets, if a constable busts a guy that has 25 outstanding parking tickets thats over 600 bucks in fees right there.

[djturnz]

Originally Posted by Dredly

before we start killing off people look at the fine print... (and constables correct me if I'm wrong)

so far they found one guy taking 757 and another taking 537, they made over 250K last year. For a constable, if they get lucky (and my understanding is correct) they can make over 600 bucks on a single suspect depending on how many warrants they have.
Supposedly Berks is really bad for parking tickets, if a constable busts a guy that has 25 outstanding parking tickets thats over 600 bucks in fees right there.

Not a Constable, but this is true.

They are not a suspect, they are the defendant.

[Robert Kayland]

Originally Posted by djturnz

Not a Constable, but this is true.

They are not a suspect, they are the defendant.

Could these guys have picked up a few more bucks on the side, serving themselves on the given warrants?

Thus far, a few hundred bucks seems like small potatoes, compared to their overall salaries.

That said, those are some pretty hefty salaries, far more than I thought constables earned.

[HiredGoon]

Originally Posted by Robert Kayland

Could these guys have picked up a few more bucks on the side, serving themselves on the given warrants?

And even more bucks if it took them several tries to actually serve the papers on themselves!
LOL!

Originally Posted by Robert Kayland

Thus far, a few hundred bucks seems like small potatoes, compared to their overall salaries.

That said, those are some pretty hefty salaries, far more than I thought constables earned.

PLUS...they get to legally carry a concealed gun in all 50 states + DC, as per the LEOSA!

[Robert Kayland]

Originally Posted by HiredGoon

And even more bucks if it took them several tries to actually serve the papers on themselves! LOL!

Now THAT'S funny!

PLUS...they get to legally carry a concealed gun in all 50 states + DC, as per the LEOSA!

Gee, $120K to $250K per annum... concealed carry anywhere they choose... hmmmm.... where do I sign?

/and I promise not the cheat on my paperwork!

[HiredGoon]

Originally Posted by Robert Kayland

Gee, $120K to $250K per annum... concealed carry anywhere they choose... hmmmm.... where do I sign?

I know you're being semi-serious here, but...
Contact your local Bureau of Elections and/or clerk of courts about becoming a candidate. I think a bunch of positions around the state are becoming available within the next 2 years.
Check here for your county.

[Robert Kayland]

Originally Posted by HiredGoon

I know you're being semi-serious here, but...
Contact your local Bureau of Elections and/or clerk of courts about becoming a candidate. I think a bunch of positions around the state are becoming available within the next 2 years.
Check here for your county.

Yeah, I'm pretty happy doing what I'm doing now... good info nonetheless, and I am thinking about early retirement, so who knows?