MONTPELIER, Vt. -
A former Vermont State Police Sergeant is in a lot of trouble. For what appears to be time sheet fraud and it involves a hefty number of taxpayer dollars. The governor held an impromptu press conference this afternoon detailing what he could about a newly launched investigation involving thousands of dollars of overtime that may not have been valid.
"I'm sorry to report to Vermonters today," said Governor Peter Shumlin, who called upon members of the media to let Vermonters know about possible fraud in the Vermont State Police department, "by overcharging overtime and other areas of time sheet abuse."
Here's what happened: Last week, another trooper was putting overtime on his sheet when he noticed former Sgt. James Deeghan had been putting overtime on his time sheet that he did not work.
And here's how much, in the last fiscal year Mr. Deeghan made roughly $136,000 dollars. That amount is roughly 50K more than his base salary.
Something Shumlin says is unacceptable, "What I will not tolerate is tax payers being robbed from."
Deeghan worked in the Williston barracks and had been with state police since 1990. The Vermont State Police values are courage, honesty and integrity.
Colonel Tom L'esperance says the state police feel betrayed, "He betrayed his badge his core values, and across the state this will have a shock wave among the state police members."
It's not known how much of that roughly 50 thousand was fraudulent or if this behavior went on for a number years. There is an investigation into the matter and the Governor promises transparency throughout the entire investigation.
