NEW CASTLE, Ind. (AP) — Two New Castle police officers have been charged with official misconduct and ghost employment after evidence indicated they were golfing, gambling and engaging in other personal activities while being paid to work for the Henry County Corrections Center, state police said.
Police Lt. Jim Heffernan, 39, and Patrolman Matthew Patterson, 38, were suspended without pay after their arrests Wednesday.
Henry County Community Corrections Director Doug Sheets, 57, of Centerville was also charged.
All three surrendered at the Henry County jail on Wednesday afternoon and were released after posting $1,000 bonds.
Messages seeking comment were left at Sheets' office and at New Castle telephone listings for individuals with the same names as the officers.
State Police Detective Brian Gulinson said in probable cause affidavits filed in Henry Circuit Court that surveillance, interviews with center employees, GPS data and agency documents supported allegations that the officers, while supposedly working for the center at times between March 2007 and July 2009, actually were "playing golf, going to an exercise gym, gambling, moving furniture, attending sporting events or visiting friends."
Sheets was charged with approving the misleading time cards and knowing his employees were golfing or gambling while claiming to work but paying them anyway.
Special Prosecutor Julie Pottenger of Hamilton County charged Heffernan and Patterson with corrupt business influence, official misconduct and three counts of ghost employment — Class D felonies.
Sheets, executive director of the center since 2001, was charged with corrupt business influence, two counts of official misconduct and two counts of ghost employment.
New Castle Police Chief Jim Nicholson said the allegations against Heffernan and Patterson stemmed from their work at the corrections program and not from their work as police officers.
"As police officers, we are held to higher standards, and we are not above the law," the New Castle Police Department, which helped in the investigation, said in a statement.
Heffernan joined the force 15 years ago, and Patterson joined 12 years ago. Heffernan also served as assistant director of the correction center.
Breaking News
3 Henry County corrections employees arrested
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