BURLINGTON, Vt. -
A Vermont State Police sergeant pleaded not guilty in a Burlington court Friday to defrauding the state of thousands of dollars.
James Deeghan had already resigned from his position on Monday.
Prosecutors say Deeghan created time sheets based on fantasy. In reality, he's looking at ten years in prison if convicted.
The 49-year-old walked briskly into a Chittenden County courtroom to face two felony charges for lying on his time sheet and collecting overtime pay while on the job as Vermont State Police sergeant.
He pleaded not guilty to both charges.
But with just one month of evidence already collected, prosecutors say Deeghan is guilty of collecting more than three thousand dollars worth of bogus OT.
"In the past 25 years, this is certainly the worst event that I can recall," says Colonel Tom L'Esperance, Vermont State Police.
How could this happen? Well, prosecutors say the former sergeant gained trust with more than 20-years on the job and was given oversight responsibilities, looking over time sheets no less. They say this was a crime of opportunity.
"Because of that trust, because of his reputation, there was no oversight on James Deeghan," says T.J. Donovan, Chittenden County State's Attorney.
Prosecutors say Deeghan often put down ten hours of overtime on days he never even went into work. The time reports were submitted electronically to payroll, so it remains to be seen how long this has been going on.
"We will continue to dig hard to find out exactly how every dollar was taken," says L'Esperance.
Just in the last month, prosecutors say Deeghan reported that he responded to two car accidents and one alarm at the Mountain Warfare Training Center. They say none of those actually happened.
"He also said he provided police coverage to the town of Jericho in the last month, when in fact, he did not," says Donovan.
Once the investigation is complete, the colonel says Deeghan will receive his pension, but not for more than he actually earned.
"We will go back to ensure that his pension reflects the actual hours that he worked," says L'Esperance.
Prosecutors have looked at just one month of evidence, but they plan to look even farther back.
Deeghan is due back in court on August 30th.
State Police leaders say they have already started looking at the whole payroll system and the time sheets of all 400 troopers.
