BURLINGTON, Vt. -
Vermont State Police explained its traffic ticket writing procedure after it was a revealed a former trooper might have written nearly 1,000 bogus tickets.
Now investigators say former Sergeant James Deeghan wrote 973 tickets over 12 years and none of them went to the driver or the court.
"We found some very puzzling things as we've dug through the records and I'm sure we'll find some more," says Gov. Peter Shumlin, D-Vermont.
Shumlin says the investigation continues into Deeghan's made up tickets, including how they happened and why he did it.
"Anything we found doesn't suggest he was personally profiting from writing bogus speeding tickets. So there had to be another motive. It was more than money," says Shumlin.
State police say troopers write between 150 and 300 tickets a year.
Vermont State Police Sergeant Greg Campbell says when he catches a speeder, he writes a ticket, which includes lots of personal information about the driver.
Campbell says he gives the driver two copies of the ticket. The original and a copy go to state police office staff, who enter the ticket info into a computer system.
"If it doesn't format or they can't read our writing which happens frequently, not frequently, but it does happen then they will send an email saying we need clarification, we can't read your writing," says Campbell.
Then the ticket is forwarded to the court.
Prosecutors say Deeghan was profiting from bogus overtime. They estimate he cost taxpayers $140,000 that's been uncovered so far.
