MONTPELIER, Vt. -
Vermont State Police leaders say they are suspicious of time sheets going back years for former Sergeant James Deeghan.
Right now Deeghan only faces charges for stealing thousands of dollars for bogus overtime in June. But now dozens of police troopers are pulling and double checking Deeghan's time sheets from even further back.
In Montpelier Tuesday, Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn says state police have found even more "abnormalities" with Deeghan's time cards.
"It appears that it's gone back approximately two years or even longer," says Flynn
Besides Deeghan, Flynn says investigators will look at time sheets of all state police workers going back three-months. State Auditor Tom Salmon wants to do more in light of the Deeghan case.
"We've been concerned that for years we've created an environment in Vermont where we trust people too much and we give people opportunity," says Salmon.
That's why Salmon says he wants to look at state police pay going back one year and see if there's anything suspicious.
While the current problem appears to be focused on one trooper in state police, the state auditor wants to take a much broader look.
"Everybody needs to be on notice that we're watching," says Salmon.
Salmon says it will cost $100,000 to hire an outside firm to help look at time sheets across all state workers.
While he says it's money well spent, Governor Peter Shumlin says Vermonters should still have faith in state government.
"There is no reason to believe there is widespread time sheet fraud in Vermont," says Shumlin.
Salmon says the check of time sheets will look for problems and also offer recommendations. He wants to make sure there are proper checks in place to prevent more time card fraud.
