Bound for trial

Source: The Porterville Recorder, Calif.儲存Nov. 07--There is enough evidence to hold Jeff Bradley and Scott Gardner for trial, ruled Judge Hugh F. Millin III at the end of Day 2 of their preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon in Dept. 19 of the South County Justice Center. Bradley and Gardner must answer to the charges, he said. The charges listed include embezzlement of public funds, grand theft, presentation of a fraudulent claim, public officer crime involving appropriating private dollars for personal use, falsely justifying entries on overtime slips, and falsely authorizing entries on overtime slips with respect to reason for and the number of hours worked.Millin set the arraignment for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 20 at the South County Justice Center.Bradley and Gardner, former Porterville Developmental Center officers were arrested in February of 2010 for their roles in allegedly embezzling $121,500 in overtime pay. The two pleaded not guilty in May of 2010.Representing Bradley and Gardner were Greg Spano and Marshall Hodgkins, respectively. Representing the State of California Department of Justice' Attorney General, was Leanne LeMon, Deputy Attorney General.The ProsecutionBeing in two places at the same time is not possible, especially when the two locations are hours apart. That is what PPD Sgt. Rick Carrillo revealed when he was called to the stand.LeMon asked Porterville Police Department Lt. John Hall about the overtime slips and of the reason given as the justification for the exuberate amount of hours taken in overtime.It all stemmed back to reports of PDC employees sleeping on the job, during the night shift, and the need to investigate the issue.That issue, however, was something that should have been reported to Nancy Irwin, then the Acting Chief of Office of OPS.Hall testified that upon speaking with Irwin during the investigation, she indicated she was not aware of the overtime issue nor of the employees' misconduct investigation -- an issue she should have been made aware of, and one that required immediate reprimanding, not an 18-month investigation.Carrillo said he became aware of the situation in August of 2008 when it was brought to his attention by an anonymous person. It was confirmed when he went onto the Sacramento web site and found information depicting the thousands of dollars of overtime pay.During his investigation, Carrillo talked to several PDC employees, including David Harrold, who once was offered by Bradley to sign his time sheet while Harrold taught a class at Porterville College, unrelated to his PDC duties. Harrold did not take him up on the offer.Another person was needed for a golf tournament. Bradley also offered to falsify his records to allow him to play golf, but the person declined, Carrillo said.Upon interviewing Patricia Flannery, she made a comment on how it was odd and not appropriate for Bradley, after being promoted to an assignment in Sacramento, was still signing off the overtime slips for Gardner.Speaking with Bob Lewis, PDC 2008 Acting Commander of the facility after Bradley left, Carrillo said he asked him about Gardner's overtime."His verbatim response was 'It stinks.'" Carrillo said.On May 6, 2009, Hall and Carrillo spoke with Bradley."He reported he specifically had Mr. Gardner reviewing and updating policies, and conquering or battling issues with employee misconduct," Carrillo said. " [A project] 18 months in the works,"At the conclusion of the investigation, Carrillo said, Bradley said he was going to attack it globally -- something Carrillo said he understood to mean he would address it with all of the employees at one time.Carrillo also said Bradley admitted he had signed off the overtime slips -- and that Bradley said it didn't matter what day or time was on the sheet as long as the hours worked were correct.Quantum leapsMuch of Carrillo's testimony revolved around a formatted calendar he grafted from Gardner's alleged working hours, overtime hours, ATM withdrawals, debits made and checks written.The calendar for each month was presented with Carrillo pointing out discrepancies,迷你倉including:Jan. 2, 2008 -- Working from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on overtime from 4 p.m. to midnight. Yet, during the day, Gardner had a haircut.Jan. 13, 2008 -- Working 6 a.m. to midnight, yet used three checks in Visalia at Best Buy and Target.Jan. 19, 2008 -- Working 6 a.m. to midnight, yet cashing a check at Circuit City in Visalia.Feb. 1, 2 and 3, 2008 -- Working 7 a.m. to midnight on Friday, returning six hours later, working 18 more hours, returning six hours later and working an additional 18 hours."All the while, [debit] cards were being used out of the area," Carrillo pointed out as he showed records for several Avila, California locations, including a hotel and a purchase at Best Buy in San Luis Obispo. He also presented the receipt from the hotel.From February 29 to March 2, 2008, the discrepancies continued, with transactions in Baker and Las Vegas, Nevada, at the same time Gardner indicated he was working.On March 14 and 15, 2008, transactions had him at Tachi Palace in Lemoore and eating at Fugazzi's in Tulare during his work hours.The transactions continued, including three days in April, when Gardner conducted transactions in Modesto, Antioch and San Francisco during the time he declared as work hours.The transactions coinciding with alleged work hours went on and on and included two days in May where he was at Chuckchansi Gold Resort and Casino north of Fresno at the same time he claimed to be working.May 22, 23 and 24; June 28 and 29 and July 3, 4 and 5, Gardner was back in Las Vegas, while claiming work and overtime hours.August had him closer to home, making transactions in Visalia and in Porterville during the time his time sheet said he was working.In October, 2008, Gardner claimed vacation from Oct. 15 to 26, getting married on Oct. 18.Yet he also claimed overtime on seven days, two of the days from 8 a.m. to midnight, including the day after his wedding -- something Carrillo said he found very suspicious.Carrillo also talked, during questioning by LeMon and cross-examination by Spano and Hodgkins, about a $2,200 check Bradley accepted from Gardner's wife for an entertainment center.However, Carrillo said he does not recall seeing one when he was in the home, and if he did, it was not worth $2,200, he said.In closingThroughout the hearing, Spano and Hodgkins asked when specifically the overtime records were received by the Porterville Police Department and in numerous occasions, made it clear to the court that they did not agree with the illegal seizure of records used in the examination by the Porterville Police Department, they said.Carrillo, during questioning, said he observed in his investigation numerous times when large amounts of cash were withdrawn by Gardner shortly after depositing his pay checks, making him suspicious of where the funds were going, specifically to Bradley. And Carrillo acknowledged he never obtained witnesses who said anything about "kickbacks" and never saw any money passed to Bradley."But there's no direct proof," Spano said, and talked again about Gardner's gambling habits. "It appears Mr. Gardner spent time in the casino. Is it also possible he was taking funds to go gamble?"Carrillo finally agreed."I'm sure it is possible but not as probable as my belief," Carrillo said. "Yes, it's possible Mr. Gardner used thousands of dollars he withdrew to gamble."The issue of illegally obtaining the overtime records surfaced again and again."I don't believe the evidence is sufficient here to show Mr. Bradley had known of what Scott Gardner was or was not doing," Spano said. "He was the Commander. He was not the person going around the perimeter to see what different people were doing. As Commander, he placed someone else in charge of the investigation."Millin set the arraignment for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 20 at the South County Justice Center.The case is being prosecuted by the State Attorney General's Office.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Porterville Recorder (Porterville, Calif.) Visit The Porterville Recorder (Porterville, Calif.) at .recorderonline.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存倉