Josephine Dawkins IA Report - Record

Transcription

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IA-14-45
Meriden Police Department
Internal Affairs Unit
Investigative Report
IA#: IA-14-45
Category: Class 1
Complainant: Chief of Police/Deputy Chief of Police
Allegations: Neglect of Duty
Accused: Josephine Dawkins
Date(s) of Incident: December 4, 2014
1,
Time of Incident: 15:00 hours
"---·
Place of Incident: 50 West Main Street, Meriden, CT
Type of Incident: Mismanagement of Department Revenues
Involved Parties: Diane Ritchie
Captain Zakrzewski
Captain Gaynor
Lieutenant Cossette
Lieutenant Elionfante :
D/Sgt. Burstein
Jenna Lombardo
Donna Grella American Adjustment Bureau INC
Cale Hunt ARM Security, Inc
Lauren Solomon ARM Security, Inc
Finding: Results of this investigation indicate that the accused violated one or more
Meriden Police Department policies, procedures, or rules and regulations.
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Particulars:
That on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at about 1314 hours, I received a phone call from Chief
Jeffry Cossette. Upon speaking with Chief Cossette he advised me that he would be placing
Meriden Police record clerk Josephine Dawkins on administrative leave at about 1500 hours.
According to Chief Cossette this was being done after a large sum of money and un-cashed
checks had been located in her desk. Chief Cossette further advised that Lt. Cossette would be
providing a summary of the events that led to the discovery of the money and un-cashed checks
and that an investigation into the matter would be forthcoming.
That on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at about 1022 hours I received the following memo from
Lt. Cossette which was titled "Employee Misconduct". The memo read:
Chief Cossette, as the Commander of the Records Division, it is my duty to inform you about
employee misconduct involving Ms. Jo Dawkins. On Wednesday, December 3, at approximately
1020 hours, I was contacted by Captain Zakrzewski. I was teaching a class to Meriden Police
Officers and was approached by the Captain. Captain Zakrzewski informed me that he was
contacted by Ms. Diane Ritchie about a missing tow form. Ms. Dawkins handles the tow forms
for the records division. I later discovered that she has not been filing these forms with the case
but just putting them into empty boxes. Apparently this has been going on for several years.
Ms. Dawkins had taken a vacation day. In an attempt to locate the tow form, Captain Zakrzewski
and Ms. Ritchie searched Ms. Dawkins desk. They discovered a large quantity of cash in the top
right front draw of her desk (unsecured). Captain Zakrzewski then contacted me. I discovered a
grey box containing different denominations of money. I also discovered 189 parking tickets. Of
the 189 parking tickets, 26 had cash clipped to them. Not always the correct amount. 15 had a
copy of a check or money order attached. 148 of the tickets did not have anything attached to
them. The dates are from February 2014 to present.
I had Officer Tina Benzi assist me with counting the money. Officer Benzi has been temporarily
assigned to records while she is on light duty. Officer Benzi and I counted the cash in the grey
box. The cash in the grey box totaled $2412.00. The amount of money that was attached to the
tickets is $736.00 for a total of $3158.00 I am requesting that an internal investigation and audit
be conducted to address this gross misconduct. It should be noted that Lieutenant Elionfante, the
previous Records Division Commander, addressed the issue about Ms. Dawkins not turning in
the money she collects on a timely basis. She was instructed to turn in all monies collected
weekly. Ms. Dawkins signature appears on the bottom of the form and is dated 10-15-13.
The aforementioned document that was provided to Dawkins by Elionfante is included in this
packet. Paragraph 3 of the document titled "Task Assignment-Josephine Dawkins" reads:
Parking TickctsNendor Permits/Raffle Permits-Process parking tickets, Vendor Permits
and Raffle Permits. **Complete Cash/Check transmittals for these weekly. Do not hold
money for longer than the current week.
L
That on Thursday, December 4, 2014 Sgt. McKay and I took possession of the money, checks,
and tickets that were retrieved from Dawkins desk. Upon taking possession of these items Sgt.
McKay and I recounted the money and checks. Upon doing so it was determined that there was
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$2422.00 in cash in the grey box, $686.00 in cash attached to tickets, and $130.00 in checks, for
a grand total of$3,238.00.
The grey box containing Cash:
46
84
100
10
152
LOCATED 12-03-2014
$20.00
$10.00
$5.00
$2.00
$1.00
Total
$920.00
$840.00
$500.00
$10.00
$152.00
$2422.00
Issued: 02-13-2014
Check Issued: 11-28-2014
Issued: 11-09-2014
Issued: 11-18-2014
Issued: 11-20-2014
Total
Un-cashed check $50.00
$l30.00
Ticket Number: 60031
Issued 03-21-2014
RECEIPT NOT FOUND
Cash $80.00 (Violation
$15.00)
Issued: 04-18-2014
PAID: 04-24-2014
Discovered: 12-03-2014
Receipt: 871071 $15.00
Cash in Desk: 6
Issued 05-23-2014
PAID: 11-13-2014
Receipt: 869413- $15.00
Violation should have doubled
lost revenue $15.00
Cash in Desk: 21 Days
Cash $15.00
Checks:
Tickets with Cash:
Issued 09-24-2014
PAID: 11-12-2014
Discovered 12-03-2014
Cash: $20.00 (Violation
$15.00)
$15.00)
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Receipt: 669405 $15.00
lost revenue $15.00
Issued 09-29-2014
PAID: 11-07-2014
Receipt: 871192-$30.00
Issued 10-22-2014
PAID: 11-12-2014
Receipt: 869404 $15.00
lost revenue $15.00
Issued 10-27-2014
PAID: 11-10-2014
Receipt: 871196 $15.00
lost revenue $15.00
Issued: 10-31-2014
PAID: 11-07-2014
Receipt: 871187-$15.00
Issued 10-31-2014
PAID: 11-12-2014
Receipt 869402 $15.00
lost revenue $10.00
Issued 10-31-2014
PAID: 11-24-2014
Receipts: 869453-$30.00
Issued 10-31-2014
PAID: 11-07-2014
Receipt: 871190-$15.00
$15.00)
$15.00)
$15.00)
Cash: $15.00
$15.00)
$15.00)
$15.00)
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Issued 11-01-2014
PAID: 11-21-2014
Receipt: 869431-$131.00
Cash: $131.00
Issued 11-04-2014
RECEIPTS NOT FOUND
Cash: $5. 00 (Violation
$15.00)
Issued 11-04-2014
RECEIPTS NOT FOUND
$15.00)
Issued 11-04-2014
PAID: 11-17-2014
Receipt: 869423-$15.00
lost revenue $15.00
Issued 11-05-2014
PAID: 11-10-2014
Receipt: 871198- $15.00
Cash in Desk: 24 Day
Issued: 11-05-2014
PAID: 11-05-2014
Receipt: 871182- $15.00
Issued: 11-05-2014
PAID: 11-05-2014
Receipt: 871180- $15.00
Issued 11-06-2014
SAME TICKET PHOTO
COPIED BELOW
Issued 11-06-2014
PAID: 11-06-2014
Receipt: 871184-$15.00
Cash in Desk: 28 Davs
Issued 11-07-2014
PAID: 11-14-2014
Receipt: 869417-$15.00
Cash: $15.00
$15.00)
Cash: $15.00
$15.00)
$15.00)
$15.00)
$15.00)
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Issued 11-07-2014
PAID: 11-14-2014
Receipt: 869419-$15.00
Issued 11-15-2014
PAID: 11-28-2014
Receipt: 869452-$30.00
Issued 11-25-2014
PAID: 12-01-2014
Receipt: 869456-$15.00
Issued 11-25-2014
PAID: 12-01-2014
Receipt: 869455-$15.00
Actual Cash Total: $686.00
$491.00
$15.00)
$15.00)
$15.00)
$15.00)
Actual Violation Amount:
$491.00
Difference: $195.00
Lost Revenue from Failing
to double violations after 7
days $85.00
Of the 25 tickets with cash listed above Dawkins failed to double the violation at total of7 times.
Dawkins did double violations on 2 occasions. Failing to double the violations when necessary
resulted in a loss of$100.00 in revenue to the City of Meriden.
It should be clearly noted that there is a process in place for excusing a parking violation. This
process includes filing Meriden Police form "Parking Violation Review Request". Of the 7 times
Dawkins failed to double the violation the ticket was not accompanied by a Parking Violation
Review Request indicating that the violation was excused from being doubled. These forms are
typically signed by Captains.
L
That on Friday, December 12, 2014 I spoke to both Captain Zakrzewski and Captain Gaynor. In
speaking to the Captains I asked them if Dawkins would approach them requesting permission to
excuse the doubling of a violation. According to Zakrzewski he may have excused a doubled
violation once a year and that he would do so using the Parking Violation Review Request.
According to Gaynor he would review some tickets for Dawkins and when he excused the
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doubled violation it would be accompanied by a Parking Violation Review Request. Both
Captains indicated that these instances would be documented.
The City of Meriden Parking Ticket is clearly marked in the following manner:
YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO APPERA at the Tag Division, 50 West Main Street and
pay the penalty indicated above. In the event the penalty is not paid within 7 days following the
date of violation, said penalty shall double.
Cash located in Dawkins Desk on 12-03-2014 and how long it was left in her
desk.
The numbers below correspond to the 21 tickets located in Dawkins desk with cash attached to
them and depict how long each ticket was left in Dawkins desk.
Day's ticket and cash was left in desk: 2, 2, 6, 6, 10, 13, 17, 20, 20, 21, 22, 22, 22, 23, 24, 27, 27,
27, 28, 29, and 29.
Of the 21 tickets with cash listed above, cash left in the desk had a range of: 2 day low to 29 day
high.
Of the 21 tickets with cash listed above, cash left in the desk had a mean (average) of: 18.9 days
left in desk.
Of the 21 tickets with cash listed above, cash left in the desk had a median (middle) of: 22 days
lefts in desk.
Of the 21 tickets with cash listed above, cash left in the desk had a mode (number in list that
occurs the most) of: 22 days left in the desk and 27 days left in desk,
By using the mean or the average number of 18.9 days that cash was kept in Dawkins desk one
can clearly see that this would violate the document provided to Dawkins titled "Task
Assignment-Josephine Dawkins" which reads:
Parking TicketsNendor Permits/Raffle Permits-Process parking tickets, Vendor Permits
and Raffle Permits. **Complete Cash/Check transmittals for these weekly. Do not hold
money for longer than the current week,
It should be noted that the Director of Accounting for the City of Meriden Jenna Lombardo
advised this investigator that in fiscal year 2015 Dawkins submitted parking ticket transmittals
on the following dates:
07-21-2014
07-23-2014
08-01-2014 - 09-02-2014: Entire Month without a transmittal
09-03-2014-10-06-2014: Over a Month without a transmittal
10-06-2014 - 11-03-2014: Nearly an Entire Month without a transmittal
11-03-2014 - 11-17-2014: Two Weeks without a transmittal
11-24-2014
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By looking at the dates provided by Lombardo it is apparent that Dawkins was holding money
and not submitting transmittals to the finance department. This is clearly insubordination on
Dawkins part as Elionfante gave her written instructions which read: **Complete Cash/Check
transmittals for these weekly. Do not hold money for longer than the current week.
GRAND TOTAL FROM ITEMS LOCATED ON 12-03-2014:
The grey box contained: $2422.00
Checks: $130.00
Tickets with Cash: $686.00
TOT AL: $3238.00
Lost Revenue from failing to double violation after 7 days $100.00
As noted above the grand total retrieved from Dawkins desk was $3238.00. In calculating the
tickets with cash I found it very interesting that of the 25 tickets only 5 tickets had the proper
amount attached to them while the remaining 20 tickets had a higher amounts attached. This may
be due to the fact that the ticket was late. When a ticket is paid seven days after the date of issue
the fine doubles. However, this still does not account for many of these higher amounts. For
instance Ticket Number: 60031 which was issued on 03-21-2014. The original fine was $15.00
dollars; however, the amount attached to the ticket was $80.00 dollars. This does not make any
sense because if the ticket was late the fine would have doubled to $30.00 dollars.
Issued 03-21-2014
$15.00)
In calculating both columns I determined that there was a difference of$195.00 which would
post as additional revenue; however, this would cause considerable issues for someone
attempting to reconcile the account. Such methods would contradict GAAP or Generally
Accepted Accounting Principles.
That on Monday, December 8, 2014 Deputy Chief Tim Topulos directed the Internal Affairs
Division to begin an investigation into the alleged misconduct by Dawkins. That on Tuesday,
December 9, 2014 Deputy ChiefTopulos officially initiated an internal affairs investigation into
the misconduct.
Investigation:
That on Monday, December 8, 2014 Sgt. McKay and I proceeded to the Meriden Police
Department Records Division to begin IA-14-45 at its source, Dawkins desk. Upon doing so Sgt.
McKay and I decided that we would begin the administrative investigation with parking tickets.
At this point it was decided that we would examine all the parking tickets within Dawkins work
area to determine if there were any un-cashed checks and/or cash attached to any of the tickets. It
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should be noted that while looking for parking tickets we observed Dawkins work area to be
cluttered with parking tickets found in various locations within the work area. These areas
included: under the desk, in the desk, on top of a cabinet to the right of her work area, and within
the cabinet as well. The tickets were not maintained in a neat an orderly manner and followed no
logical filing system. In addition to this we also looked through past ticket transmittals from
2009, 2010, and 2011 which had tickets in each folder. In doing so we looked through each ticket
to determine if there were any un-cashed checks and/or cash attached to any of the tickets.
In doing so Sgt. McKay and I noted that the tickets spanned from 2002 to 2014. Upon looking
through the tickets we located 25 tickets with either un-cashed checks/money orders attached to
them and 4 tickets with cash attached to them.
Un-cashed checks/money orders:
Issued: 00-00-2007
PAID: 09-24-2007
Issued: 06-22-2007
PAID: 07-05-2007
Un-cashed money order
$35.00
$30.00
Issued: 08-12-2007
PAID: 09-04-2007
lost revenue $25.00
$25.00
Issued: 08-29-2007
PAID: 09-05-2007
Issued: 09-14-2007
PAID: 09-17-2007
$116.00
$15.00
Issued: 10-07-2007
PAID: 10-07-2007
Issued: 07-08-2008
PAID: 07-24-2008
Violation should have
doubled lost revenue $15.00
Issued: 12-21-2008
PAID: 12-21-2008
Issued: 01 -20-2009
PAID: 02-20-2209
Violation should have
doubled lost revenue $15.00
Issued: 02-01-2009
PAID: 02-03-2009
Un-cashed
$15.00
money
order
Issued: 06-21-2009
Un-cashed
money
order
L
LOCATED 12-08-2014
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PAID: 06-20-2009
Issued: 09-08-2009
PAID: 12-30-2009
lost revenue $15.00
$33.00
Un-cashed
$15.00
Issued: 10-05-2010
PAID: 10-11-2010
Ticket Number:58111
money
order
Un-cashed
$15.00
money
order
Issued: 01-21-2011
PAID: 01-24-2011
Un-cashed
$50.00
money
order
Issued: 01-29-2011
PAID: 03-05-2011
lost revenue $50.00
Issued: 01-27-2011
PAID: 02-17-2011
Issued: 02-07-2011
PAID: 02-07-2011
Issued: 02-10-2011
PAID: 03-02-2011
Issued: 05-01-2011
PAID: 03-26-2012
Issued: 03-09-2-11
PAID: 03-29-2011
lost revenue $15.00
order
Un-cashed
money
$50.00
Un-cashed
$15.00
money
Issued: 10-07-2011
PAID: 10-08-2011
Issued: 02-15-2012
PAID: 02-29-2012
lost revenue $15.00
Issued: 04-28-2013
PAID: 05-05-2013
Issued: 09-15-2013
PAID: 10-04-2013
lost revenue $15.00
Issued: 09-18-2013
PAID: 11-04-2013
Un-cashed
$131.00
Un-cashed
$15.00
money
order
order
money
order
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Davs: 165.00
Total Un-cashed money
orders and checks: $950.00
Issued: 08-28-2007
Issued: 04-16-2010
Issued: 02-04-2011
Issued: 08-13-2013
Cash $15.00
Check$15.00
Cash $15.00
Cash $15.00
Cash $1.00
Total Cash: $46.00
Total un-cashed money orders/checks: $950.00
Total Cash: $46.00
Grand Total of lost revenue to the City $996.00
Of the lost revenue 7- tickets were issued in 2007, 2-tickets were issued in 2008, 4-tickets were
issued in 2009, 2-tickets were issued in 2010, 9-tickets were issued in 2011, I-ticket was issued
in 2012, and 4-tickets were issued in 2013.
c
That on Monday, December 8, 2014 Deputy Chief Tim Topulos advised Sgt. McKay and me,
that the Director of Accounting for the City of Meriden Jenna Lombardo would be reporting to
the Meriden Police Department to conduct an audit of Dawkins records.
That on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 Lombardo repmied to the Meriden Police Department
at about 0930 hours. Upon her arrival Sgt. McKay and I showed Lombardo the evidence that was
seized from Dawkins Desk on December 3, 2014 by Lt. Cossette. Upon doing this we proceeded
to the records division where Lombardo was shown Dawkins work area. While speaking with
Lombardo Lt. Elionfante and I explained Dawkins responsibilities to Lombardo and explained
that she would take in monies for parking tickets, vendor permits, pistol permits, and special
event permits. At this time Lombardo was advised that Dawkins would use an antiquated
computer program to enter parking tickets.
Upon hearing this Lombardo requested access to Dawkins computer in order to review this
program. At this point Lt. Elionfante and Kevin McCarthy provided Lombardo access to the
computer. Once this was done Elionfante and McCarthy assisted Lombardo in navigating the
various function of the program so she could understand the systems capabilities. From this point
forward Lombardo had access to the computer. While at Dawkins work area I opened the top
draw in the presence of Lombardo. Upon doing so I located a considerable amount of change. At
this point Lombardo assisted in counting the change. That change amounted to $17.45 which was
seized and placed in the internal affairs division.
That on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 Lombardo worked in the records division until about
1700 hours. It should be noted that Sgt. McKay remained on scene with Lombardo until she
completed her work for the day.
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That on Thursday, December 11, 2014 Lombardo returned to the Meriden Police Department to
continue her audit. That while conducting her work this writer opened the top desk draw to
Dawkins desk and seized a remaining $00. 73 cents in loose change. It should be noted that all
monies seized from Dawkins desk is presumed to be monies belonging to the City of Meriden
until it can be proven othetwise. That on this date, Lombardo worked in the records division
from about 0830 hours until 1600 hours. This writer stayed with Lombardo until she completed
her work for the day. Grand total seized in Coins: $18.18
Interview of Diane Ritchie
That on Thursday, December 11, 2014 at about 1436 hours Records Clerk Diane Ritchie reported
to the internal affairs division for a recorded interview. Upon commencing the interview I
advised Ritchie that the interview would address events that took place on Wednesday,
December 3, 2014. I further indicated that the interview would focus on one of her co-workers
by the name of Josephine Dawkins. At this time I gave Ritchie some background information in
order to set the tone for the interview. Once this was done I asked Ritchie to tell me how she
came across the money in Dawkins desk. According to Ritchie after she located the money she
wrote everything down for herself. At this time Ritchie asked if she could refer to her notes. I
advised Ritchie that she could refer to her notes during the interview. It should be noted that a
copy of this documentation is included in this investigation.
At this point Ritchie began to read from her notes. Ritchie read: On December third I was alone
in records. Josephine Dawkins had taken the day off. I was tending to the counter and an attorney
came in looking for information that was determined to be a court erasure. I wanted to verify that
I was making the right decision so I contacted you, (Sal Nesci) to verify that I was not able to
give out the information. According to Ritchie, I advised her that I would get back to her after I
verified it. While sitting at my desk the phone rang. Thinking it was you, (Sal Nesci) I answered
it and it was Chase Auto regarding a car that was impounded after an accident.
Because I was working with someone at the counter I took down some information which
included: the date, the type of car, and the vin. I then advised the woman that I would call her
back. After I took care of the attorney I went back and looked up the information regarding the
vehicle. In doing so I determined that the vehicle was not impow1ded and that it was a regular
accident with the vehicle being towed to Preece's Auto according to the PR-I. I assumed that
since Chase was calling they were probably on the loan for the car and they were looking for
where the vehicle was. I then called Preece' s Auto assU111ing that Chase did not know where the
car was. I called Preece' s to inquire if they still had the vehicle because the accident had
occurred on 10-31-14.
When I called them they did not have the car and were not familiar with any of the details of the
car and did not recall having it. In hearing this I thought that the officer may have indicated the
wrong tow company or there was a change where another tow company towed it. I decided I
would pull the tow form; however, Jo (Josephine Dawkins) does not file the tow forms with the
cases, she keeps them in her desk or at her desk. Dawkins keeps these tow forms stockpiled at
her desk from year to year. I went to the front of her desk where she has a wooden cart. Under
the cart she has files baskets with tow forms. Upon pulling out one I could see that the tow forms
were very old. Knowing that the tow form was not in the wooden cart I walked around to the rear
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of her desk and looked under it where she files things as well. In doing so I noticed that there
was nothing there that indicated any kind of a tow form. Since it was only October thirty first I
thought she may have them in the green hanging folders in her desk bottom draw.
I opened her bottom desk draw looking for the tow form. As soon as I opened the draw I saw
large bundles of money. As soon as I saw the money and the amount of bills there I immediately
closed the draw and left that area of the office. I went to Tom Cassette's office since he is our
immediate supervisor and he was in training for the day. I called Captain Zak since he is the next
in command and his phone went to voicemail so I sent him a quick email knowing that his phone
is hooked up to his email. I sent him a quick email asking him to come to records when he had a
minute. Within five minutes he came into records. When he came in I asked him ifhe could look
at this and we walked over to the front part ofrecords where Jo's desk is. We went over to her
desk where I opened the draw to show Zakrzewski the money. When Zakrzewski saw tl1e money
he said, "What the hell is that?"
Ritchie said I believe its money from parking tickets, but I don't know. We're really not allowed
to keep large sums of money, but I assume that's what it is because on occasion she has kept
money in her desk. We closed the draw and we left. Zakrewski and Lt. Elionfante returned and
went to Dawkins desk and then Zakrzewski and Lt. Cossette went over to Dawkins desk. When
they returned Cossette had piles of money in his hands along with tickets. According to Ritchie
this is basically how she discovered the money and what she did when she discovered it.
c
At this time I asked Ritchie if she was familiar with the Meriden Police Department policy on
fiscal management. When Ritchie heard this she stated "not really". According to Ritchie she
never really dealt with any of the money until Teri left a couple of weeks ago. I further asked
Ritchie if any of her supervisors ever gave her a copy of the policy. According to Ritchie she
does not recall ever getting a copy of the policy or if she did she dismissed it because it really did
not pertain to her. I next ask Ritchie about the money box that is in records. I asked Ritchie if
anyone accounts for the money within the box in the morning. To this Ritchie replied "no".
According to Ritchie no one checks the beginning balance. I next asked about receipts being
issued for various services and money being placed within the money box. I asked Ritchie if
anyone counts the money so an ending balance can be recorded. To this Ritchie replied "no", and
that in her fifteen years no one has ever done so.
I next asked Ritchie when transmittals are submitted. According to Ritchie she does transmittals
at the end of the week; however, other people have not been so intent on doing that. I next asked
Ritchie if all the days proceeds go into the money box. When Ritchie heard this she replied "no",
and that Ms. Dawkins has always kept her money separate. Ritchie then stated that Dawkins was
responsible for her parking tickets, vendors and solicitors permits, and gun permits. Ritchie then
reiterated the fact that Dawkins has always kept this money separate and never included it with
other money that was collected within records. According to Ritchie when she works the front
window and someone comes to pay a parking ticket she would take payment, write out a receipt,
and then paper clip the money or check to the ticket. From here the ticket and the payment would
be placed into Dawkins top basket. If change was needed then they would make change from the
money box, ifthere was no change within the money box then they would have to ask Dawkins
for change.
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Upon hearing this I pointed to the fact that if she was holding all the money for the parking
tickets then she should have made the change for anyone paying a parking ticket. To this Ritchie
replied "probably". Ritchie then stated that the money kept in the money box is for FOI requests
and reports. She further stated that fingerprint money is kept in a separate white envelope labeled
fingerprints and that it is kept within the money box. I asked Ritchie is she is familiar with how
Dawkins takes in money and how she documents the flow of money. According to Ritchie she
has no knowledge about this and that Dawkins has her own program for parking tickets in the old
AS 400 system and no one had access to that program.
I further asked Ritchie if she had any insight into how Dawkins processes vendors. According to
Ritchie they have heard Dawkins talking with people at the window and she would pick up some
information; however, beyond this Dawkins exclusively handled these matters. In terms of gun
permits Ritchie stated that they would take the applications and money in and that they would
then turn over everything to Dawkins. Ritchie then confirmed for me that Dawkins was
responsible for submitting transmittals for parking tickets, vendors/solicitors, and pistol permits.
At this point I asked Ritchie if Dawkins was filing transmittals weekly. To this Ritchie replied "I
would have to say no".
At this point I asked Ritchie where Dawkins would keep this money. According to Ritchie,
Dawkins would keep the money in her desk which was unlocked. According to Ritchie, Dawkins
would never lock up the money in the vault and if they took the money to lock it up she would
get offended. When Dawkins was away on vacation or out sick they would not leave the money
in her top bin they would lock it up. According to Ritchie, Dawkins would keep money in her
desk on a regular basis. In hearing this I asked Ritchie if this was the largest amount of money
she had ever seen in Dawkins desk. When Ritchie heard this she replied "I would probably say
yes". Ritchie further stated that it is not uncommon to find money in Dawkins desk.
I asked Ritchie if Dawkins inquired about the money when she returned to work on Thursday,
December 4, 2014. According to Ritchie, Dawkins came to her at about twenty after nine and
that Dawkins doesn't get started right away at 8 o'clock in the morning. According to Ritchie she
asked Cossette what she should say if Dawkins asked her about the money. When Cossette heard
this he advised Ritchie to tell Dawkins that he has the money and that he would talk to her later.
When Dawkins finally asked her about the money Ritchie replied in the manner that she was
instructed to. Dawkins then stated why did he take it or why does he have it. According to
Ritchie she told Dawkins that she did not know and that she would have to talk to him. At this
point I asked Ritchie to describe Dawkins demeanor during this conversation. According to
Ritchie she would describe Dawkins demeanor as defiant and then indicated that her demeanor
reflected an attitude of "how dare he" or "what right did he have in taking my money".
According to Ritchie, Dawkins did not talk to her for the remainder of the day and that this
behavior is not uncommon with Dawkins. In hearing this I asked Ritchie to describe her
relationship with Dawkins over the years. According to Ritchie it's been up and down and this
was common place with all the clerks as well. She further stated that one day Dawkins would be
very friendly and the next day she would not acknowledge you. When she was acting in this
manner Dawkins would not respond if you said good morning to her. Ritchie further stated that
Dawkins would stop talking to you for weeks or months or days on end. Then one day Dawkins
will come in and ask you how your weekend was and what you did last night as if nothing ever
happened. Ritchie stated that it was very difficult to work with Dawkins and that Dawkins had
IA-14-45
15
the same relationship with Pauline Bilodeau, Joy Hamilton, and Janice Hoff. Ritchie then stated
that it was not just a personality conflict between her and Dawkins.
I asked Ritchie how the other staff felt about Dawkins behavior. According to Ritchie it was very
stressful working under these conditions. I then asked Ritchie if Dawkins ever trained her in her
specific job functions. According to Ritchie, Dawkins never trained her in any of her job
functions and that the only thing Dawkins would give them was enough information to assist her.
For instance, if Dawkins was sitting down and someone came in with a gun permit and money
she would want the other staff to take the packet and give it to her. Ritchie further indicated that
this was the same scenario with parking tickets and that Dawkins did not want to get up from her
desk.
According to Ritchie, Dawkins made a comment to her on Tuesday, December 2, 2014 about
making a deposit for over two thousand dollars for pistol permit applications. According to
Ritchie she thought this was odd because pistol permits are $136.50 and that this would require
numerous applications to accumulate to that amount of money. Ritchie then stated that she
believed that Dawkins was holding the applications instead of sending the transmittals up to city
hall in a timely manner.
/' ·
\
Upon hearing this I asked Ritchie if she felt that there were any improprieties taking place with
money. When Ritchie heard this she stated that she did not know, but that if there were we will
never find it. According to Ritchie if a parking ticket is never paid we do nothing further with it
and that it will sit there for twenty years and that no one would ever know. Ritchie then stated
that if someone pays their ticket and someone takes the money we would never know. In hearing
this I asked Ritchie if Dawkins sends un-paid tickets to collections. According to Ritchie,
Dawkins told her a long time ago that she stopped. According to Ritchie she got the impression
that this practice stopped because Dawkins did not want to do it. Dawkins told Ritchie that they
were not making enough money and that it was not worth the hassle for the small amount of
money we're getting.
Ritchie stated that in cleaning out one of the filing cabinets she came across some collection
paperwork and that it appeared that we had not used the collection agency since 1996. According
to Ritchie she has not seen the collection process used since she was hired in 1999. According to
Ritchie when Dave Puska from the Meriden Parking Authority asked about what we do with unThat on Tuesday, December 2, 2014 Dawkins did submit two transmittals, both were for pistol
permits. One transmittal was for $819.00 cash and a second one was in the amount of$1638.00
checks.
paid parking tickets they put him in touch with Dawkins. When Puska spoke to Dawkins he was
told that there have not been any un-paid parking tickets. When Puska heard this he called
Ritchie laughing hysterically at the statement that Dawkins made. Puska who was the records
supervisor when he was a Meriden Police officer stated that this was impossible.
Transmittals December 2, 2014
That on Tuesday, December 2, 2014 Dawkins did submit two transmittals, both were for pistol
permits. One transmittal was for $819.00 cash and a second one was in the amount of$1638.00
checks.
IA-14-45
(':
16
Interview of Captain Zakrzewski
That on Thursday, December 11, 2014 at about 1306 hours Administrative Captain Michael
Zakrzewski reported to the internal affairs division for a recorded interview. Upon commencing
the interview I advised Zakrzewski that the interview would address events that took place on
Wednesday, December 3, 2014. I further indicated that the interview would focus on how he
came upon the Josephine Dawkins incident and what actions he took once he was notified. At
this time I gave Zakrzewski some background information in order to set the tone for the
interview.
At this point I asked Zakrzewski to state for me what occurred on the date in question. According
to Zakrzewski he received an email from records clerk Diane Ritchie asking that he stop into the
records division and see her. Shortly thereafter Zakrzewski states that he responded to the
records division. Zakrzewski indicated that on that date the newly appointed records commander
Lt. Tom Cossette was not available as he was teaching a class on accident investigation. Upon
entering the records division Ritchie asked Zakrzewski to follow her over to Josephine Dawkins
desk. On the date in question Dawkins was out on a vacation day. According to Zakrzewski,
Ritchie was attempting to help a person with a request regarding where a vehicle had been towed
to.
(
According to Zakrzewski it is Dawkins responsibility to file all the tow forms. In the course of
attempting to help locate this vehicle Ritchie opened Dawkins desk to see ifthere were any more
tow forms within the desk. In doing so Ritchie located a large sum of money. When Ritchie
located the money she closed the desk draw and when Zakrzewski entered the area Ritchie
showed him the money. Zakrzewski stated that the money was located in the right hand lower
draw of Dawkins desk. According Zakrzewski there was a large sum of money within the draw
wide open and unsecured. At this point Zakrewski states he did not know how much money was
in the draw; however, he knew it was a substantial amount of money. At this point Zakrzewski
closed the draw and proceeded to the training room where Cossette was teaching.
In speaking with Cossette, Zakrzewski instructed him to follow him into the records division.
Once in the records division Zakrzewski showed Cossette what they had located in Dawkins
desk. At this point Zakrzewski instructed Cossette to count and secure the money. According to
Zakrzewski he advised Cossette to have another officer assist him because it was a substantial
amount money. At this point Zakrzewski states he turned the matter over to Cossette. Zakrzewski
stated that Cossette counted the money with Officer Benzi. Later that day Cossette reported to
Zakrzewski's office where he informed him that the money was in excess of $3,000.00 dollars.
According to Zakrzewski he was shocked at the actual amount. According to Zakrzewski in his
29 years with the Meriden Police Department he has never seen anyone have that much
unsecured money within a desk.
According to Zakrzewski he instructed Cossette to document his findings and that the Chief of
Police should be notified. According to Zakrzewski Cossette did document his findings and
subsequently the Chief of Police was notified via email. At this point I confirmed that
Zakrzewski has been the Administrative Captain for about one and one half years. According to
Zakrzewski that was conect. In hearing this I asked Zakrzewski if it was his responsibility to
supervise the records lieutenant. In hearing this Zakrzewski stated that I was conect. At this
point I asked Zakrzewski ifhe was ever made aware of any issues taking place within the records
IA-14-45
/'
l.
)
17
division. According to Zakrzewski he was not made aware of any issues within the records
division with regard to the handling of money.
To the best of his knowledge the records commander had everything under control as far as the
money draw being placed out front, how money was taken in, how money was exchanged with
the public, and how money was transmitted to city hall. According to Zakrzewski as far as he
knew this was being done through the record lieutenant. According to Zakrzewski he did address
some performance issues and that he wanted to ensure that every clerk was properly trained and
that they met department expectations. According to Zalrzewski this was correct and then stated
that there were some performance issues. According to Zakrzewski there were three clerks in the
records division. These clerks included: Diane Ritchie, Teri Meyer, and Josephine Dawkins.
Zakrzewski further stated that the majority of the work was being completed by Diane Ritchie.
In an attempt to address this issue Zakrzewski stated that he called a meeting with all the clerks
and the lieutenant. At the meeting Zakrzewski stated that he informed the clerks that the records
division needed to be up to date. According to Zakrzewski he was advised that some of the clerks
were still using typewriters and still faxing documents. Zalazewski states that he explained to
them that in a business environment they needed to use email and that they needed to send
documents by scanning and sending them electronically. According to Zakrzewski two of the
clerks did not use email at all and that he was going to hold them accountable if they did not start
using email.
c
Shortly thereafter Cossette was assigned as the records commander to oversee and address these
issues. According to Zakrzewski the records division needed specific supervision. Prior to
Cossette, Lt. Elionfante was the records commander; however, he was unable to give the records
division his undivided attention because he split his duties with MIS functions. To the best of his
recollection Zakrzewski was aware of some personality conflicts between the records clerks and
some performance issues. Zakrzewski indicated that he attempted to address the issues that were
brought to his attention going as far as sending a test email to the clerks to see if they would
respond. At this time Zakrzewski reiterated that he was not aware of any issues with the way
money was being handled within the records division.
In summary Zakrzewski did indicate that his main issue was addressing performance issues
within the records division. According to Zakrzewski a camera was recently installed in the
records division to monitor performance with the unit. In closing Zakrzewski stated that he was
just shocked at the amount of money that had been located.
Interview of Lieutenant Cossette
That on Thursday, December 11, 2014 at about 1329 hours Lt. Tom Cossette reported to the
internal affairs division for a recorded interview. Upon commencing the interview I advised
Cossette that the interview would address events that took place on Wednesday, December 3,
2014. I further indicated that the interview would focus on how he came upon the Josephine
Dawkins incident and what actions he took once he was notified. At this time I gave Cossette
some background information in order to set the tone for the interview.
According to Cossette on December 3, 2014 he was in the Meriden Police Department training
room teaching a class on the new PR-I form. At about I 020 hours Captain Zakrzewski asked to
IA-14-45
18
speak with Cossette during the class break. In doing so Zakrzewski advised Cossette that he and
records clerk Diane Ritchie were looking for a tow form. Cossette fmiher stated that tow forms
are handled by records clerk Josephine Dawkins. According to Cossette on this date in question
Dawkins had taken a day off. While looking for this tow form Zakrzewski and Ritchie looked in
Dawkins top desk draw. In doing so a large sum of money was located in a recipe type box.
Located beneath this box was a stack of parking tickets of which some had money paper clipped
to them. Cossette noted that the draw was unsecured.
According to Cossette once these items were located he was immediately notified. Cossette
indicated that he was notified because he was recently appointed to the position of records
commander. Upon responding to Dawkins desk, Cossette states he located exactly what was
described to him by Zakrzewski and Ritchie. According to Cossette the money within the box
was stacked in a corresponding manner. In other words twenties were bundled together; tens
were bundled together and so on. Upon lifting the box up and out of the desk Cossette located a
large pile of parking tickets beneath the box. Some of the tickets were just the white copy while
others were the manila copy. According to Cossette he located about 189 parking tickets in
various states of disarray. Of the 189 tickets 26 had money paper clipped to them while the
remaining tickets did not have any money attached to them.
According to Cossette he had no idea what the status of these tickets was. Cossette did indicate
that it was very interesting to see that of the tickets with money attached to them some of the
tickets were for the proper amount while others had either a lower or higher amount of money
attached to the ticket. At this point Cossette seized these items and brought them into his office
so he could inventory what was located. Cossette indicated that he was assisted by Officer Benzi
so they could verify what was located. According to Cossette the money located in the grey box
was $2412.00 while another $736.00 was located attached to tickets for a total of$3158.00.
Once Cossette inventoried the items he proceeded to notify the Chief of Police of what had been
located. Cossette further stated that he was advised by the Chief that he would be contacting
internal affairs and that he would be in later that day to contact the Personnel Director Caroline
Beitman. According to Cossette he notified the Chief by phone on December 3, 2014 and that he
authored a memo to the Chief on December 4, 2014. Cossette stated that once the items were
inventoried they were secured and locked in his office.
·
On December 4, 2014 Cossette indicated that he authored a memo to the Chief of Police
outlining the facts and circumstances of the incident. According to Cossette when Dawkins
returned to work on Thursday, December 4, 2014 she asked him about the money. According to
Cossette Dawkins did not approach him first thing on December 4, 2014 and that it was about
1000 hours when she approached him. According to Cossette, Dawkins had asked Diane Ritchie
prior to approaching him. Apparently, Ritchie advised Dawkins that Cossette took the money
and that she should speak with him. In speaking with Dawkins, Cossette advised her that it is a
violation a department policy to keep money in your desk and that the Chief of Police was
notified regarding the matter. Cossette fµrther advised Dawkins that he had secured the money
for safekeeping.
Cassette indicated that about one hour after speaking with Dawkins she approached him a second
time. At this time Dawkins advised Cossette that she had a transmittal form for pistol permits
which was for $813.00 and that it was in a sealed envelope. According to Cossette he knew that
IA-14-45
19
six people did not come in that morning for gun permits and that this money must have been in
Dawkins work area somewhere as well. According to Cossette he has noticed that the majority of
pistol permits are paid by check while the majority parking tickets are paid in cash. At this point
I located the transmittal form Cossette was referring to. The transmittal form in question was
actually for $819 .00 and that Dawkins had made it out on December 2, 2014 and brought it to
Cossette on December 4, 2014.
In speaking with Cossette I asked him ifhe knew where the box with the money came from.
According to Cossette he did not know where the money came from or what revenue source
generated the money. At this point I showed Cossette a job task assignment list that was given to
Dawkins by her previous supervisor Lt. Elionfante. In looking at this I asked Cossette if Dawkins
was specifically responsible for parking tickets, vendor permits, and raffle permits. According to
Cossette, Dawkins handles these matters almost exclusively.
At this point I asked Cossette why he was assigned to the position of records commander. I
further mentioned that prior to him Elionfante had supervised both MIS and the Records
Division. According to Cossette it was realized that the MIS Division is a function in and of
itself and that the records division required more oversight. Cossette further indicated that
efficiency issues were also a concern for administration. Once it was realized that it was too
much for one supervisor to handle the assignment was divided amongst two supervisors. Overall
Cossette pointed to the fact that the records division was not operating in an effective, efficient
manner and direct supervision was required.
According to Cossette in assuming his new role as records commander he was not aware of any
money handling issues or he would have taken action much sooner. Cossette further stated that to
his knowledge there were some personality conflicts amongst the clerks; however, he had no
idea there was money handling issues. According to Cossette he recently interviewed Dawkins
and during the interview she indicated that she knew her assignment in the records division and
that he had been doing it for a long time. Cossette indicated that he was led to believe by
Dawkins that everything was fine. Cossette stated that he was bothered by the fact that there
were boxes of tow forms piled up everywhere and that it was Dawkins job to file these forms
with the proper case. This has obviously not happened since there are six years of forms piled up
by Dawkins desk.
American Adjustment Bureau Inc.
That on Monday, December 15, 2014 I sent an email to Donna Grella of American Adjustment
Bureau Inc. In the email I identified myself and indicated that I was aware of the fact that in the
past the Meriden Police Department has used American Adjustment Bureau to collect on
outstanding parking tickets. I further indicated that I was attempting to determine when the
Meriden Police Department last used the services of the American Adjustment Bureau.
That on Monday, December 15, 2014 Donna Grella from the American Adjustment Bureau
responded to my email. According to Grella the last time the Meriden Police Department
submitted anything to the American Adjustment Bureau was back on April IO, 2001.
That on Monday, December 15, 2014 I spoke with the Chief of Police Jeffry Cossette. In
speaking with Chief Cossette he advised me that any delinquent parking ticket should be referred
IA-14-45
20
to collections after 30 days and that this is part of Dawkins assignment. At this time, I advised
Chief Cossette that no delinquent parking tickets have been referred to collections since April
2001. It should be noted that Chief Cossette was the Records Commander until he was promoted
to the position of Deputy Chief in 2002. Chief Cossette has functional knowledge of how the
records division operates and what responsibilities are associated with each position.
That on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 I emailed Grella a second time. In this email I advised
Grella that I was attempting to determine how much revenue the Meriden Police Department has
lost over the years by not using the services of the American Adjustment Bureau. I asked Grella
if she could tell me how many tickets were referred to the American Adjustment Bureau in 2001.
I further indicated that if calendar year 2000 was a complete years worth of data I would like that
information as well. I then asked Grella to provide for me how much money was collected for
the Merden Police Department in 2001 and 2000 after the American Adjustment Bureau fees
were paid. I also asked Grella to advise me who from the Meriden Police Department was the
point of contact for the American Adjustment Bureau.
That on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 Grella advised me through email that she was concerned
that the data I requested may have been purged from the system because the account information
is 14 to 15 years old. Grella further indicated that they would try and retrieve the information.
Grella further indicated that at that time the point of contact for the Meriden Police Department
was Jo Dawkins.
c
That upon receiving this information I emailed Grella back looking for clarification about
Dawkins. In the email l asked Grella if Dawkins sent her the tickets for collection.
That on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 Grella responded and indicated that Dawkins was the point
of contact with any problems unless someone else sent the accounts and that Dawkins took care
of issues.
That on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 I received an email from Grella indicating that the
records that I requested were not available and that they had been destroyed. Grella did reiterate
the fact that the American Adjustment Bureau did not receive any new tickets from the Meriden
Police Department since April 200 I.
That on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 I asked Jenna Lombardo to provide me with the
parking ticket revenue from 1999 to 2014. This data appears below.
Parking Tag Revenue- 0001-0210-30-0-0000-625 FY-1999-2014
Fiscal Year:
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Amount:
$68,191.01
$49,016.57
$45,016.57
$25,906.72
$27,751.00
IA-14-45
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
21
$17,197.00
$19,145.17
$11,486.74
$13,374.19
$17,210.00
$14,898.00
$14,340.00
$34,848.00
$14,167.00
$10,858.00
$18,712.00
It should be clearly noted that the range for the data above goes from a high of $68, 191.01 in
1999 to a low of$10,859.00 in 2013 a difference of$57,333.01. As noted above we used
American Adjustment Bureau up until 2001. After Dawkins no longer remitted tickets to the
American Adjustment Bureau the parking ticket revenue dropped significantly.
According to Lt. Elionfante in 2008 he was asked about parking tickets being sent to collections
by Chief Cossette. When Lt. Elionfante was asked about the matter he questioned Dawkins who
authored the following memo on March 7, 2008 to Elionfante. In her memo to Elionfante,
Dawkins wrote:
"On Wednesday when you asked me about the parking ticket collections, I said the towing had
set me back. What I was referring to was, for the past 9 or 10 months there have been a lot of
towing cars, and I was making sure that the owners and lien holders were notified.
When I was given the towing job, which Officer Hector Cardona had been doing, I was told the
towing job had to be done, because if the owners were not notified it could cost the city money
for storage.
Before the tickets are sent to collection, I have to get owners name and addresses from the Motor
Vehicles Department, send the owners a notice before the tickets are sent to collections.
I know sending these tickets to the collection agency is important and I have already started
working on getting the job done".
When Dawkins authored this letter to Elionfante she clearly knew that she had not sent any
tickets to the American Adjustment Bureau Inc. since April 10, 2001 seven years prior to when
she authored the memo above. This was memo who untruthful and led Elionfante to believe that
tickets were being sent to collections. In addition to this Dawkins failed to send any tickets to
collections after she authored this memo to Elionfante.
In addition to this Elionfante provided me with an undated memo sent to him from records clerk
Diane Ritchie. The memo read:
IA-14-45
22
"It appears that we sent our outstanding parking tickets to American Adjustment Bureau in the
past. Records show we used them as far back as 1986 through 2004. Their commission started
out in 1986 at 50% but in 2004 it was 33.3%. I checked, and they are still in business so I am not
sure why we stopped using them. Was it a department decision or an individual decision. Spoke
to Dave Puska from the Meriden Parking Commission and asked what he does with their unpaid
tickets. When he started he asked the procedure and there was none. He inquired about piggybacking off of the MPD's procedure and when it was inquired what the PD did about the tickets,
he was told that Jo Dawkins advised that we had no unpaid parking tickets. He asked legal to
look into it so he could set a policy but since they are so small, in his terms, it went by the
wayside" and they have no policy in place at this point. Maybe this policy can be looked into
again. I'm sure the City can use the extra revenue".
It should be noted that Dawkins did not send anything to the American Adjustment Bureau Inc.
in 2004. According to Donna Grella of American Adjustment Bureau Inc. they were still sending
checks to Meriden in 2004 from tickets submitted prior to April 10, 2001. I find it highly
improbable that there were no unpaid parking tickets during 2001 to present. In fact, Dawkins
memo to Elionfante indicates that there were unpaid tickets as she wrote, "I know sending these
tickets to the collection agency is important and I have already started working on getting the job
done".
Because Dawkins neglected this duty the City of Meriden lost a significant amount of money in
parking ticket revenue.
ARM Security Checks and Additional Parking Tickets located
That on Monday, December 15, 2014 at about 1430 hours, I was in the records division when I
was approached by D/Sgt. Burstein. Upon speaking with Burstein he advised me that he was
now responsible for precious metals permits and pistol permits. According to Burstein he wanted
me to assist him in finding the precious metal documentation in Dawkins work area. While
discussing this with Burstein we asked records clerk Ritchie if she !mew where the requested
documentation was kept.
At this point we proceeded to open the right bottom draw to Dawkins desk. Upon doing so we
located a folder that had ARM written on the outside of it. Upon opening the folder we located
25 un-cashed checks from ARM Security, Inc to the City of Meriden in the amount of$150.00
dollars each. The checks were all dated 04-03-13 and all indicated that the check should be
voided after 90 days. The total value of the checks was $3750.00.
Also located in the folder were 25 applications for Peddling and Soliciting for various employees
of ARM Security, Inc. It should be noted that the payment for each applicants permit is $150.00.
It was immediately apparent that the 25 checks corresponded to the 25 peddling and soliciting
permit applications.
In addition to this we located more parking tickets within this draw and within another cabinet
across from Dawkins work area.
IA-14-45
23
That on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 I emailed Cale Hunt of ARM Secmity, Inc. In my email I
indentified myself and that I was conducting an audit of the Meriden Police Departments
Records Division. I further advised that in doing so I came across 25 un-cashed checks from
ARM Security, Inc to the City of Meriden and that all the checks were for $150.00 dollars. I
futiher advised that all the checks were dated 04-03-2013. I further explained that all the checks
were clearly for peddling and soliciting permits and that I had 25 applications for ARM Security,
Inc. I advised bunt that I was trying to determine if our clerk did not process the checks or if
there was a stop payment placed on the checks. I advised that by all acc01mt it would appear that
the permits had been issued and that the checks should have been cashed. It should be noted that
the checks were all scanned and sent to hunt.
Checks from ARM Security, Inc to the City of Meriden
Located 12-15-2014
c
From:ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From:ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From:ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From:ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From:ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check#60168
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60136
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60140
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check # 60 I 70
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-20 I 4
Check# 60 I 67
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60142
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60176
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60137
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60138
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60165
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60162
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60169
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60134
Amount:$150 .00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60163
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60135
IA-14-45
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From:ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
Fl'om: ARM
Security, Inc
From: ARM
Security, Inc
24
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
To: City of
Meriden
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60171
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60139
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check#60175
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60133
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60166
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60172
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check#60174
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check # 60164
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60173
Amount:$150.00
Date:04-03-2014
Check# 60141
Gmnd Total
$3750.00
(_
That on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 I received an email from Cale Hunt indicating that one of his
team members by the name of Lauren Solomon would be contacting me regarding the aforementioned
ARM Security checks.
That on Thursday, December 18, 2014 I sent Lauren Solomon from ARM Security, Inc an email looking
for an update on the 25 un-cashed checks.
That on Thursday, December 18, 2014 I received an email from Solomon. In her email Solomon wrote:
Most of the checks that you attached have been voided in our system as they are state checks. However,
since you believe those licenses were issued to our sales guys I have reached out to the Sales department
to verify this. I can reissue payment if indeed the licenses were issued. If you have any documentation
that they were issued I would review it as well. I will let you know as soon as I hear back from Sales.
Upon receiving this email I responded stating: Thank you for getting back to me. I don't know for
sure if these permits were issued or not. The employee who handles these matters is not here and
I cannot get confirmation from her. I do have a corresponding pile of applications that were
located with the checks. I have scmmed the applications and attached them to this email. The
applications were faxed to us on 05/24/2012. Most of these packets have the bond attached to
them as well. Again, I am not sure what the situation is with these applications and checks. At
this point I am assuming the permits were issued since your company issued 25 checks for 25
applications; however, I am not sure. I am hoping that your sales department can assist in
clearing this matter up. I hope the applications help. Please let me know what your records
reflect. Thank you.
IA-14-45
25
That on Thursday, December 18, 20141 received the following email from Lauren Solomon:
Thank you for sending the applications that helped us review this. It appears none of our sales
guys sold in Meriden, though we prepare them to be licensed when they go out. The checks are
voided, please shred them. I appreciate you taking the time to ask about them. This is an example
of the .level of disorganization that this investigator has observed while conducting this
investigation. The checks in question were issued on April 3, 2014 and are clearly marked void
after 90 days. Dawkins has a pattern of not following up. In this case the checks should have
been sent back to the company and the file should not have remained in her desk for 8 months.
That on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 Jenna Lombardo returned to continue her audit of the
Dawkins files.
That on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 Sgt. McKay and I looked through the additional parking
tickets that were located in Dawkins desk. In doing so we located the following:
Un-cashed Money Orders/Checks:
Located 12-16-2014
Issued: 02-09-2009
Paid: 03-13-2009
lost revenue $15.00
Un-cashed Money order
$15.00
Issued: 04-17-2009
Paid: 05-04-2009
lost revenue $15.00
$15.00
No Ticket
Loose
No Ticket
Loose
Issued: 11-22-2012
Paid: 11-27-2012
Issued: 09-14-2012
Paid: 11-27-2012
$35.00
Un-cashed Check $30.00
Davs: $30.00
Cash:
I No Ticket
I Loose
$20.00 Cash
Total Un-cashed money orders and checks: $140.00
Cash Total: $20.00
Grand Total of lost revenue to the City: $160.00
L
IA-14-45
26
Of the lost revenue 2- tickets were issued in 2009 and 2-tickets were issued in 2012.
Interview of Lt. Elionfante
That on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 at about 1029 hours Lt. Brian Elionfante repo1ied to the
internal affairs division for a recorded interview. Upon commencing the interview I advised
Elionfante that the interview would address events that took place on Wednesday, December 3,
20 I 4 involving police records clerk Josephine Dawkins. I further indicated to Elionfante that the
interview would focus on his previous position as the records division commander. At this time I
gave Elionfante some background information in order to set the tone for the interview.
Upon setting the tone for the interview I asked Elionfante what year he assumed command of the
records division. According to Elionfante he assumed command of the records division sh01ily
after he was promoted to lieutenant in 2007. In addition to overseeing the records division we
discussed the fact that Elionfante also oversaw the departments technology division and that this
has truly been his primary function for many years. In addition to this we also discussed the fact
that prior to Elionfante taking over the records division the unit had a dedicated supervisor solely
for the records division. At this time Elionfante pointed to the fact that Officer Dave Puska was
overseeing records previous to him and that he was responsible solely for the records division.
(_
According to Elionfante to the best of his recollection he was assigned to the records division
because Puska was retiring or had just retired. Upon hearing this I asked Elionfante if he was
properly trained in terms of how the records division operated. According to Elionfante he never
received any formal training and that no one ever sat down with him and explained the duties
associated with being the records division commander. According to Elionfante the only function
that he was instructed to maintain was the reporting of UCR data. According to Elionfante he
was never advised by anyone that there were any issues with the records division. By all
accounts Elionfante believed the records division was operating properly and that he was not
aware of any problems that needed his attention during his tenure as the records division
commander.
At this point we discussed that in December 2014 he had been relieved of the records division
assignment. However, prior to leaving the records division, Elionfante had a number of
employees that he supervised. These employees included: Pauline Bilodeau, Joy Hamilton,
Diane Ritchie, Janice Hoff, Josephine Dawkins, Teri Meyers, Paul Rowen, Jim Mrozcha, and
Rick Kudla. In speaking with Elionfante I discussed the fact that there are a number of functions
associated with the records division. One such function is the proceesing of parking tickets and
monies that are taken in conjunction with parking tickets. At this point we discussed the fact that
records clerk Josephine Dawkins was responsible for parking tickets. At this point I asked
Elionfante to tell me what else Dawkins was responsible for. According to Elionfante in addition
to parking tickets Dawkins handled: vendor permits and pistol permits.
According to Elionfante the clerks were not truly cross trained and that they all had their own
specific assignments and functions. Elionfante then pointed to the fact that records clerk Ritchie
handled all of the internal repmi reviews and UCR coding and that records clerk Joy Hamilton
reviewed cases. Elionfante further indicated that he believed that Pauline Bilodeau assisted with
IA-14-45
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27
some of the money issues when it came to vendor permits; however, this was limited because she
was responsible for dealing with DCF matters. According to Elionfante this left Dawkins to
oversee and handle permitting, precious metals, and anything to do with money and funds that
were associated with those documents. Elionfante further stated that Dawkins has been with the
department for more than fifty years and that this was her primary function for about thirty of
those years.
According to Elionfante, Dawkins had always done this and that she even had her own office
when he was assigned to the records di vision. At this point we discussed the fact that Dawkins
was operating autonomously until Elionfante moved her out of her private office. According to
Elionfante this was done in an attempt to encourage Dawkins to assist the other clerks. At this
point we reviewed Dawkins -assigned duties and that these duties included: parking tickets,
vendor permits, special events, and pistol permits. Elionfante then stated that he took pistol
permits away from Dawkins and assigned them to an officer because she was getting backed up
on processing them.
(_
At this point I asked Elionfante to describe for me the procedure that Dawkins used for taking in
money, checks, and money orders. According to Elionfante as far as he knew when Dawkins got
money for a vendor permit or a pistol permit she had her own booking keeping and that she gave
receipts out. According to Elionfante, Dawkins would then do a transmittal for the checks and
the money which in turn would go up to the city. According to Elionfante about two years ago
they had an issue with checks being sent to finance late. In some cases the checks were one to
two months late. When discovered Elionfante was contacted and asked to look into the matter. In
doing so Elionfante states he asked Dawkins about the late checks. According to Elionfante
when he asked Dawkins about this issue she indicated to him that she had been very busy and
that she had gotten behind on them.
Shortly thereafter Elionfante states he had a staff meeting. During this staff meeting Elionfante
states he advised the staff that transmittals for checks and money had to be submitted on a
weekly basis. Elionfante states that it was at this point that he gave each clerk specific job
functions and duties. During this time Elionfante indicated that the records division was going
through a period of change with clerks retiring and other employees bumping into the records
division. According to Elionfante because of this two clerks were lost and that the Chiefs
financial secretary Teri Meyers came into records with no experience.
According to Elionfante this is when Dawkins exclusively took over the handling of parking
tickets and pistol permits while Meyers was being trained in her new position. At this point I
showed Elionfante a document that he provided for Dawkins back on October 15, 2013 titled,
"Task Assignment- Josephine Dawkins". Upon producing said document I asked Elionfante ifhe
gave Dawkins the document because there was a failure to submit transmittals in a timely
marmer. According to Elionfante this was correct and that he gave all the clerks Task
Assignments because he wanted to provide focus and direction so they knew what their primary
IA-14-45
28
duties were. According to Elionfante, Dawkins Task Assignment addressed parking tickets,
vendor permits, raffle permits and that she was to do a transmittal weekly. According to
Elionfante her Task Assigmnent also indicated that cash was not to be held longer than the
current week.
At this point we discussed the fact that Dawkins was using an antiquated computer system for
entering parking tickets. According to Elionfante, Dawkins was using the original parking ticket
computer module that was purchased in 1998. In 2010 the system was upgraded; however, the
system had a problem with the way the city collects late fees. Because of this issue the original
system remained in service. According to Elionfante, Dawkins was the only person who really
had access to this system and was the only one who was really trained in its use. At this time we
discussed the issuing of a parking ticket and that when a parking ticket is issued there are two
copies a white copy and a manila type copy.
c
The white copy is turned into Dawkins while the manila type copy goes to the individual
receiving the parking ticket. I further pointed to the fact that Dawkins would take in the white
copy while the manila type copy contained either money, a money order, or a check. According
to Elionfante this was correct and in addition to that she would be responsible for entering the
parking ticket into the computer system. At this point I discussed the fact that this system is
flawed because if someone wanted to destroy the white copy and the manila type copy the
money could be taken and conceivably never traced. When Elionfante heard this he agreed
stating that this could happen.
I next asked Elionfante if Dawkins was placing revenue generated from parking tickets, raffles,
vendor permits, and pistol permits into the records cash draw. When Elionfante heard this he
stated that he did not know and that he did not know what she did with the money when she
received it. According to Elionfante he knew that there was one cash draw kept in the records
division that was up front. Elionfante further stated that he assumed that any money that was
coming in was being placed in this cash draw. According to Elionfante as far as he knew all
money that was being taken in was being kept in this draw and that he never had any reason to
believe otherwise.
L
According to Elionfante this cash draw was kept in the vault and that it was taken out and locked
up daily. At this point I asked Elionfante if he was ever introduced to the Meriden Policy on
Fiscal Management 17.4. When Elionfante heard this he stated that he was never specifically
introduced to this policy. At this point I highlighted the fact that the policy provides guidance on
how money draws are to be counted at the beginning of the day and that all money should be
held in one location. I further pointed to the fact that the policy provides guidance on how the
money draw must be counted and balanced at the end of the day as well.
According to Elionfante he was never introduced to this policy and that its use was never brought
up because there was never an issue with the way money was handled. In addition to this
Elionfante was never advised that he had to conduct an audit and he was not aware of anyone
IA-14-45
29
before him conducting any such audit. At this point I brought up the fact that this entire matter
came to light on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 when it was discovered that Dawkins was
holding money in violation of the fiscal management policy. At this time I advised Elionfante
that the money that was located included $2422.00 in cash and $686.00 in cash attached to
tickets. It should be noted that when these items were located Elionfante was no longer the
records commander and Lt. Tom Cossette had assumed these duties.
At this point I asked Elionfante if he was ever aware of Dawkins holding money in her desk.
According to Elionfante he was never aware of her doing this. According to Elionfante he never
went through Dawkins desk and that he never had a complaint which would have led him to
believe that this was occurring. Elionfante stated the only complaint he ever dealt with was when
the city advised him that checks were being held too long and that the checks were not being
transmitted in a timely manner. At this point I advised Elionfante that Dawkins was holding the
checks and cash in her desk on an average of about 22 days. It should be noted this number was
recalculated to show an average of 18.9 days.
c'
According to Elionfante there was no system of checks and balances to ensure that every parking
ticket was accounted for. Elionfante elaborated further by indicating that this goes beyond
Dawkins and reaches the level of the patrol division. Elionfante proceeded to indicate that there
needs to be a system to ensure that officers properly void tickets so there will be another layer of
accountability. At this point we discussed the fact that delinquent tickets should be sent to
collections. According to Elionfante he was aware of the fact that there was a collections
procedure; however, was unsure as to when a ticket should be forwarded to collections.
According to Elionfante Dawkins never mentioned the fact that she was sending delinquent
tickets to collections.
At this point we summarized that Dawkins was handling large sums of money through parking
tickets, pistol permits, vendor pem1its, raffles, and special events. Although Dawkins was
handling these large sums of money Elionfante indicated that nothing was ever brought to his
attention regarding the mishandling of money until the events of Wednesday, December 3, 2014.
At this time I asked Elionfante if he knew where the cash in the grey box came from. According
to Eliofante he did not know. According to Elionfante, Dawkins had an autonomous role where
she was the sole keeper of90 percent of the cash that came out of the records division.
According to Elionfante he had no reason to suspect that there were any issues and it was
assumed that everything was going fine given her time in service and the absence of any
complaints. Elionfante further indicated that Dawkins was bringing him cash transmittals weekly
and that he would verify the amount that was attached to that particular transmittal. According to
Elionfante ifthere was an issue with the transmittals the city should have discovered it.
Elionfante did make it clear that once he signed the transmittals he did not follow Dawkins
around to ensure that the transmittals were being submitted. In discussing this I took the
opportunity to show Elionfante evidence that Dawkins was not submitting transmittals on a
IA-14-45
30
weekly basis. Elionfante then stated that he is unaware of a procedure for transmittal
accountability. Elionfante stated he trusted the fact that Dawkins was doing her job based on her
years of service. At this point we discussed the fact that it would be very difficult for Elionfante
to supervise all aspects of Dawkins work unless he sat with her daily.
Elionfante further highlighted the fact that there was a high level of turnover in the records
division and that cross training staff was difficult. At this point we discussed Dawkins overall
demeanor. According to Elionfante, Dawkins was difficult to get along with. Elionfante
indicated that this was a sentiment that was voiced both by customers and co-workers. Elionfante
then pointed to the fact that a number of Dawkins co-workers found it very difficult to work with
Dawkins. Elionfante indicated that Dawkins was protective of her duties and that she did not
want the other clerks meddling in her duties. Elionfanter further stated that Dawkins did not want
to do any of the other clerks work either. According to Elionfante, Dawkins would not assist
customers when they came to the window and that this was a source of frustration for the other
clerks and customers alike.
According to Elionfante for the reasons listed above this is why a fulltime records supervisor was
implemented. In closing Elionfante stated that 80 to 90 percent of his focus was on depaiiment
technology and that he was there for the records clerks for any operational issues like days off,
scheduling, or signing subpoenas. Elionfante stated that over his seven years as the records
commander there was never any suspicion of Dawkins doing anything wrong and had he known
he would have acted.
That on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 Lt. Cossette approached me regarding a large stack of
certified mail that was returned to the Meriden Police Department as undelivered. It should be
clearly noted that Dawkins is responsible for all outgoing mail, specifically certified mail. This
was made clear to Dawkins on October 15, 2013 when Dawkins signed for her Task Assignment.
This document was provided to Dawkins by Elionfante. In that document it states:
Mail- Process and stamp all outgoing mail on a daily basis. (DAILY) * This will include the
monthly processing and mailing of Employee Pension Checks. (MONTHLY)
That on Thursday, December 18, 2014 I opened all the letters and discovered that all the
envelopes contained City Citations for un-shoveled sidewalks.
Citation: 04681
Citation: 04683
Citation: 04682
Issued: 12-15-2013
Post Marked: 01-28-2014
Returned: 03-11-2014
Issued: 12-15-2013
Issued: 12-15-2013
Fine: $100.00
Fine: $100.00
Fine: $100.00
IA-14-45
Citation: 04688
31
Issued: 12-15-2013
·-
Fine: $100.00
Citation: 05021
Issued:. 01-07-2014
Fine$ I 00.00
Citation: 04697
Issued: 01-05-2014
Fine: $100.00
-Citation: 05005
Issued: 01-05-2014
Fine: $100.00
Post Marked: 01-28--2014
Citation: 05011
Issued: 01-05-2014
Fine: $100.00
c.
1--·--·
-·
Citation: 04698
Issued: 01-05-2014
Fine; $100.00
Returned:
3-11-2014
I---------·- - -----------------Citation: 05008
Issued: 01-05-2014
Fine: $100.00
- - - - - - - - - - - · - - - - - -·
Citation: 05117
Issued: 02-2014
Fine:
----------------- Fine: $100.00
Citation: 06806
Issued: 02-07-2014
Citation: 06703
Issued: 02,.07-2013
Fine: $100.00
~·
--1--Citati01i: 06991
Issued: 02-07-2014
Fine: $300.00
Post Marked: 02--14-2014
-Issued: 02-07-2014
Citation: 06807
Fine: $100.00
Returned: 03-30-2014 Issued; 02-07-2014
Fine: $100.00
Citation: 06816
Issued: 02--09~2014
Fine: $300.00
Citation: 05110
Issued: 02-09-2014
Fine: $300.00
Citation: 0683 2
·-
-
-
--
. --
--
--
32
IA-14-45
Citation: 06834
Citation: 06847
Citation: 06835
Citation: 06844
Citation: 06841
Citation: 06986
Citation: 06979
Citation: 06980
Citation: 05112
Citation: 05105
Citation: 05029
Citation: 05028
Returned: 03-28-20 I 4
Issued: 02-09-2014
Issued: 02-09-2014
Issued: 02-09-2014
Post Marked: 02-14-20 I 4
Issued: 02-09-20 I 4
Post Marked: 02-14-201~
Issued: 02-09-20 I 4
Issued: 02-09-2014
Returned:
Issued: 02-09-2014
Issued: 02-09-20 I 4
Issued: 02-09-20 I 4
Issued: 02-09-20 I 4
Issued: 03-12-2014
Issued: 03-12-2014
Returned: 03-19-20 I 4
LOST REVENUE TO CITY
OF MERIDEN:
Fine: $300.00
Fine: $300.00
Fine: $300.00
Fine: $300.00
Fine: $300.00
Fine: $300.00
Fine: $300.00
Fine$3 00 .00
Fine$200.00
Fine: $300.00
Fine: $100.00
Fine: $ I 00.00
TOTAL:$5400.00
It should be noted that on Friday, December 19, 2014 I asked Lt. Elionfante ifit was Dawkins
responsibility to open returned certified mail. According to Elionfante mail was clearly Dawkins
responsibility and that she should have opened the mail and returned the citation to the issuing
officers for follow up. According to Elionfante he recalls the Neighborhood Initiative Unit
issuing the citations for un-shoveled sidewalks. According Elionfante there was a considerable
.
IA-14-45
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33
amount of mail and it was determined that the Neighborhood Initiative Officers would place the
citations in envelopes and then fill out the certified return receipt paperwork. Once this was done
then Dawkins would run the letters through the postage machine and mail the letters out.
According to Elionfante when Dawkins saw that the letters were being returned she should have
opened them and returned the citation to the issuing officer for follow up. Of the 30 citations
listed above nearly all of them sat in the records division by the mail postage machine for nearly
9 months or longer. It should be noted that Dawkins uses the postage machine on a daily basis;
however, no attempt was made to open the returned letters.
That on Friday, December 19, 2014 I asked records clerk Diane Ritchie about the returned mail.
According to Ritchie she asked Dawkins about the mail. In doing so Dawkins stated that it was
not her responsibility because she did not send out the mail. Because of this indifference the City
of Meriden lost out on $5400.00 in potential revenue.
In addition to this any property owner who receives a city citation and fails to pay it has a lien
placed on their property. That on Friday, December 19, 2014 I spoke with Neighborhood
Initiative Officer Mike Ford. It should be noted that Ford is assigned to city hall and that his
duties include housing code violations. In speaking with Ford I advised him of this situation.
When Ford heard what had occurred he asked for copies of the citations so he could have the
liens removed from the affected properties.
That on Thursday, December 18, 2014 Sgt. McKay and I returned to the records division to
complete our search of Dawkins work area. In doing so we located cash, checks, and money
orders. These items were located in Dawkins desk right bottom draw and in the bottom draw of a
cabinet located to the right of Dawkins desk. One money order was located in a stack of old
parking tickets. These parking tickets were kept across from Dawkins work area in a cabinet
which she used. Also located in this cabinet was a Pringles Potato Crisps container filled with
loose change. It should be noted that there were thousands of parking tickets and old paperwork
that Dawkins was hoarding in a disheveled, unorganized manner. There was parking tickets from
1988 through 2014 located within Dawkins cabinet. In addition to this there was thousands of
tow forms dating back years as well as pistol permit documentation and vendor documentation.
c
It bears noting that on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 Lt. Cossette held a records shred. Lt.
Cossette informed department personnel especially records staff that this was going to take place.
It is clearly evident that Dawkins made no attempt to organize or purge unneeded files.
Un-cashed Money Orders/Checks:
Issued: 10-12-2004
PAID: 10-14-2004
Un- cashed Money Order
$15.00
Money Order
PAID: 03-27-2013
Un-cashed Money Order
$70.00
$50.00
Precious Metal Application
l
.
/
Located 12-18-2014
PAID: 04-29-2013
IA-14-45
34
Precious Metal Application
PAID: 04-30-2013
Issued: 06-25-2014
PAID: 11-13-2014
lost revenue $15.00
Issued: 11-22-2013
PAID: 03-17-2014
lost revenue $15.00
Un-cashed Money Order:
$15.00
Issued: 11-22-2013
PAID: 12-20-2013
lost revenue $15.00
$15.00
Issued: 03-18-2014
PAID: 03-19-2014
PAID: 03-21-2014
Pistol Permit Application
PAID: 11-24-2-14
Pistol Permit Application
PAID: 12-01-2014
Days: $45.00
Tickets Number: 66555
Un- cashed Money Order:
$16.50
Un-cashed Check: $15.00
$136.50
Issued: 02-05-2014
PAID: 02-10-2014
Receiut : 639695 $50.00
Issued: 02-13-14
PAID: 02-27-2014
Receipt: 639777 $100.00
Issued: 02-13-2014
PAID: 02-18-2014
Receipt: 639728 $50.00
$50.00 Violation ($40.00
Cash attached- negative
$10.00)
$50.00 Violation ($100.00
Cash attached- positive
$50.00)
$50.00 Violation ($6.00 Cash
attached- negative $44.00)
Cash $25.00
Total Un-cashed money orders and checks: $625.50
Pringles Container with loose change: 15.40
Cash Total: $171.00
Grand Total of lost revenue to the City: $811.90
IA-14-45
35
That on Friday, December 19, 2014 I sent Lombardo an email asking if either of the items below
appeared on any transmittal. The items include:
Issued: 02-05-2014
PAID: 02-10-2014
Receiot : 639695 $50.00
Issued: 02-13-2014
PAID: 02-18-2014
Receipt: 639728 $50.00
$50.00 Violation ($40.00
Cash attached- negative
$10.00)
$50.00 Violation ($6.00 Cash
attached- negative $44.00)
As depicted above both of these tickets were paid in cash. Ticket Number: 71732 was paid in
cash on 02-10-2014. The amount taken in by Dawkins was $50.00; however, there was only
$40.00 attached to the ticket. It should be noted that Dawkins made out the receipt for this ticket.
Ticket Number: 66556 was paid in cash on 02-18-2014. The amount taken in by Dawkins was
$50.00; however, there was only $6.00 attached to the ticket. It should be noted that Dawkins
made out the receipt for this ticket as well.
That on Monday, December 22, 2014 I received the following response from Jenna Lombardo:
Nope, they were not deposited that I could see. However, I have one transmittal from November
2014 that shows $510 deposited by check for license plate #970-KEV that I cannot trace to a
ticket number, but I'm sure you have cash for those.
,,-·
I\
__
The missing money from tickets 71732 and 66556 is clearly unaccounted for and can only be
explained by Dawkins.
Interview of Josephine Dawkins
That on Monday, December 29, 2014 the Chief of Police and I were advised that Josephine
Dawkins would be retiring. That on Friday, January 2, 2015 I received a phone call from
Jeannine Fitzgerald President of Local 595. In speaking with Fitzgerald she indicated that
Josephine Dawkins would be retiring and that she would not be coming in for an interview with
internal affairs on Tuesday, January 6, 2015.
Photographic Evidence
Photo # 1 taken on 12-08-14, depicts Dawkins work area within the records division.
Photo #2 taken on 12-03-14, depicts the grey box containing the $2422.00 within Dawkins
unsecured desk.
unsecured desk.
unsecured desk.
L
unsecured desk.
IA-14-45
{\
I
I
36
Photo #6 taken on 12-03-14, depicts money attached to parking tickets. This was found within
Dawkins unsecured desk, under the grey box containing the $2422.00.
Photo #9 taken on 12-10-14, depicts change located in Dawkins unsecured desk. The change
totaled $18.18.
Photo #10 taken on 12-11-14, depicts Dawkins trash container. On 12-04-14 when she was
placed on administrative leave Dawkins was seen ripping up paper work from within her desk.
Photo #11 taken on 12-08-14, depicts tow forms and other paperwork that Dawkins ripped up
once she was placed on administrative leave on 12-04-14.
Photo #12 taken on 12-08-14, depicts piles of tickets that were being removed from Dawkins
desk.
Photo #13 taken on 12-15-14, depicts the massive amount of tickets that were stored in various
locations within Dawkins work area.
Photo #14 taken on 12-15-14, depicts the massive amount of tickets that were stored in various
locations within Dawkins work area.
Photo #15 taken on 12-17-14, depicts the un-opened undelivered mail left in the records division
by the mail postage machine.
Photo #16 taken on 12-17-14, depicts the un-opened undelivered mail left in the records division
by the mail postage machine.
Photo # 17 taken on 12-18-12, depicts the lower right hand draw to Dawkins desk were the ARM
Security Checks were located along with checks, money orders, tickets, and cash.
Photo # 18 taken on 12-18-14, depicts the cabinet across from Dawkins work area. This cabinet
has parking tickets dating back to 1988 stored within its confines.
Photo #19 taken on 12-18-14, depicts a Pringles Potato Crisps container located in the cabinet
Photo #20 taken on 12-18-14, depicts a Pringles Potato Crisps container located in the cabinet
Photo #21 taken on 12-18-14, depicts the massive amounts of clutter stored by Dawkins in an
unorganized manner.
Photo #22 taken on 12-18-14, depicts pistol permits with money orders and checks attached to
them.
IA-14-45
37
Located on Jan nary 14, 2015
n
That on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 I was advised by Caroline Beitman that Josephine
Dawkins was officially retired as of January 13, 2015. Upon receiving this infonnation I advised
the Records Commander Lt. Tom Cossette that he could now take possession of Dawkins work
area and prepare it for the new records clerk. That upon receiving this information Lt. Cossette
and Records Clerk Diane Ritchie began the process of cleaning out Dawkins fo1mer work area.
In doing so Ritchie located a white envelope attached to a transmittal dated 12/02/2014 for
$819.00. Upon looking inside the white envelope Ritchie located $275.00 in cash.
That on this date this investigator took possession of this additional money and secured it with
the money, checks, and money orders that had been located previously.
That on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 this investigator spoke with Chief Jeffry Cossette and
asked him where the evidence from this case should be deposited. Upon hearing this Chief
Cossette advised this investigator to work with Jenna Lombardo to deposit the money, checks,
and money orders. Upon hearing this I sent Lombardo an email advising her to contact me and
that Chief Cossette wanted her to work with me on depositing the evidence from the case.
In the Final Analysis:
Located on 12-03-2014
c
CASH:
$2422.00 Unaccounted in grey box
$0686.00 Cash attached to Tickets
CHECKS/MONEY ORDERS:
$130.00
CASH:
$0046.00
$950.00
CASH:
$0018.18 loose change
CASH:
$0020.00
$140.00
CASH:
$0171.00
CHECKS/MONET ORDERS:
$352.50 (Submitted to Finance)
IA-14-45
$0015.40 loose change
38
2 Checks for Pistol Permits $136.50 each turned over to Det/Lt.
CASH:
$0275.00
TOTAL: $3,653.58
TOTAL: $1845.50
CASH: $3,653.58
CHECKS/MONEY ORDERS: $1845.50
TOTAL: $5,499.08
Located 12-17-2014
Un-paid City Citations:
$5400.00
Failing to double parking ticket:
$325.00
/-
\
GRAND TOTAL:
$11,224.08
These totals do not factor in the significant amount of lost revenue from Dawkins failure to
send un-paid parking to collections.
Summary/Conclusion:
Based on the information listed above, I believe that the preponderance of the evidence shows
that Josephine Dawkins did violate Meriden Police Department Rules and Regulations as they
pertain to the employee misconduct complaint filed against Dawkins on December 8, 2014.
Although the Meriden Police Department Rules and Regulations may not pertain to a civilian
employee there is certainly enough evidence to prove that Dawkins specifically violated:
Meriden Police Department Standards of Conduct I Rules & Regulations 1.2.31B
Neglect or Inattentio1t io Duty: Members shall not engage in activities which would
cause them to he inattentive to their duty or result in a prisoner being harmed or escaping.
Employees shall not sleep while on duty. Employees shall not perfonn their duties in a
careless or negligent manner. They shall perform their duties competently and within the
proscribed policies, procedures and established practices of the Department. Members
shall properly patrol their assigned post and promptly answer calls for service. Employees
shall not establish patterns of nonproductive work time. They are to utilize their duty time
in the fmiherance of our mission. Employees will not leave their assigned duty post or job
assignment without prior supervis01y approval and proper relief.
IA-14-45
39
l11subordillation: Members shall willfully observe and obey all lawful verbal and written
rules, duties, policies, procedures and practices of the Meriden Police Department. All
employees shall obey and properly execute any lawful order issued by a Department
supervisor whether oral or written. Any employee whose speech or conduct is
disrespectful, discourteous, abusive, profane, or threatening towards another employee
shall be deemed to be insubordinate. Supervisors shall treat subordinates with the same
courtesy and respect that is required of subordinates towards supervisors. Criticisms ofa
member's performance will be made directly to the subordinate and, if feasible, in private.
Unsatisfuctory Pe1formance: Employees shall maintain sufficient competency to properly
perform their duties and assume the responsibilities of their position. Personnel shall
perform their duties in a manner which will maintain the highest standards of efficiency in
carrying out the functions of their position and the objectives of the Meriden Police
Department. Unsatisfactory perforniance may be demonstrated by a lack of knowledge of
the application of laws required to be enforced; an unwillingness or inability to perform
assigned tasks; the failure to conform to work standards established for the employee's
rank, grade or position; the failure to take appropriate action during the investigation of a
crime or incident deserving pol ice action; or absence without leave including willful abuse
of sick time. In addition to other indicia of unsatisfacto1y performance, the following will
be considered primafacia evidence of unsatisfactory performance: l'epeated poor
evaluations or a written record of repeated violations of policies, procedures, or directives.
,,.
..
~..
Failing to Submit Required Reports: Failing to submit required reports in a timely
manner or failing to submit such reports in the proper form or content, and/or failing to
make necessary corrections when deficiencies have been brought to light by a supervisor.
FISCAL MANAGEMENT- ACCOUNTING
17.4.2 DEPA~TMENTAt CASH FlJNI> MA.NAGEl\lIENT
All cash funds or accounts where departmental personnel are permitted to receive, maintain, or
disburse cash will be controlled by the following procedures, which includes at a minimum:
A.
BALANCE SHEET OR LEDGER
A balance sheet, ledger, or other system that identifies the initial balance, credits ( cash income
received), debits (cash disbursed), and the balance on hand, shall be used at each location where cash is
received, maintained, or disbursed.
B.
RECEIPTS AND DOCUMENTATION FOR CASH RECEIVED
Employees who are authorized to take funds on behalf of the department must always complete a
receipt, even if the subject does not desire one. All fees are to be completed in the ledger or receipt book
designated for this purpose. All cash received is to be placed in the cash drawer, a copy of the receipt is
to be given to the customer, if applicable, and the fee received is to be recorded in the appropriate ledger.
These receipts are to be forwarded to the Finance Depatiment by the end of the next business day.
In addition to the items listed above this investigator found many of Dawkins money handling
practices highly suspicious. Although probable cause to support theft was not established strong
reasonable suspicion did. Probable Cause may have been established if Dawkins came in for her
scheduled interview.
(
\.._,·
IA-14-45
40
In addition to this it is clear that a failure to supervise Dawkins was clearly an issue that
contributed to this matter. Moving forward I would recommend that the Meriden Police policy
on accounting be implemented and followed immediately- Fiscal Management-Accounting 17.4.
In addition to this I would recommend that daily transmittals be filled out and submitted to the
City of Meriden Finance Department. Dawkins was allowed unbridled access to money, checks,
and money orders with little oversight. This fostered an environment that encouraged negligence,
misconduct, and possibly theft. The controls identified in the Fiscal Management Policy should
significantly improve these conditions.
Once Dawkins officially retires tile evidence that was collected during this investigation will be
transmitted to the City of Meriden for deposit.

Josephine Dawkins IA Report - Record

Transcription

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