A Toledo police command officer could face criminal and administrative charges for theft after a six-week internal investigation revealed he was drawing an hourly wage from two public agencies he clocked at the same time, authorities said.
Sgt. Ova E. Tate, 54, is on an unrelated paid sick leave as the Lucas County Prosecutor's Office reviews the case against him, Chief Mike Navarre said Wednesday. He was most recently on restricted duty and assigned to the city tow lot.
Sergeant Tate, who joined the force in 1985, is paid $32.57 an hour by the Toledo Police Department. He was hired by Toledo Public Schools in 2006 and paid $23.58 an hour as security for its Summit Annex, an adult education center downtown.
The concept is known as "projecting," and many other local police officers participate by working as security for special events or local groups off-duty, Chief Navarre said. The problem is that Sergeant Tate is suspected of billing both agencies for hours he claimed to be working at the same time, the chief said.
Sergeant Tate has not been assigned to a project with the school district since the start of the probe, TPS spokesman Patty Mazur said. Sergeant Tate could not be reached for comment.
Chief Navarre declined to release further details except to say the pending charges are both criminal and administrative.
John Weglian, chief of the prosecutor's special units division, said the sergeant may have double-billed as much as $5,500 for hours worked simultaneously for both agencies between March, 2009, and June, 2010. More than $3,700 of that represents hours paid by the police department, he added.
The prosecutor's office is likely to decide this week whether to submit potential charges of theft, theft in office, and tampering with records against Sergeant Tate to a grand jury, or whether the case should be settled out of court, Mr. Weglian said.
If the prosecutor's office were to settle with the sergeant, he would be expected to sign a statement indicating an admission of guilt, set up a form of restitution such as a fine, and seal the case, Mr. Weglian said.
Contact Bridget Tharp at:
btharp@theblade.com
or 419-724-6086.
First Published August 19, 2010, 12:37 p.m.
