Former acting chief targeted in gas investigation

By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HUBBARD -- Kenneth P. Oyler, former acting city police chief, is the target of a probe to determine if there were illegal gasoline purchases within the police department.
"He is predominately the focus of the investigation," city Auditor Michael Villano said Tuesday.
Oyler, who lives in Liberty Township, could not be reached for comment.
Oyler suddenly retired from the department Nov. 8 after Law Director Gary Gilmartin heard that gasoline was being pumped into a private vehicle rather than police cars, according to James Taafe, acting police chief.
Gilmartin is in charge of the internal investigation, and Villano is assisting.
The police department fills up at True Value Shell, adjacent to the city administration building and just down Liberty Street from police headquarters.
The city issued 12 credit cards to the department. One was assigned to each marked cruiser and one each to the car the chief drives and the detective's car.
When an officer assigned to a cruiser needed gas or oil, the officer radioed to headquarters where the cruiser was -- and for what purpose.
The chief and detective were not required to radio in when gassing up.
New policy
Villano said he has possession of the credit cards and has instituted a new policy.
The department now has one card for all gasoline purchases, and the officer gets it from headquarters when gas is necessary. The officer returns the card after making the charges.
One of the problems in accounting for the purchases, Villano said, is that Oyler had two of the credit cards, not one.
"The extra card is the wild card in the mix," Villano noted.
Mayor Arthur U. Magee has been guarded about commenting on the probe, saying only that it surrounds "questionable purchases" of gasoline and whether gasoline went into private vehicles.
Taafe said Gilmartin is conducting the investigation because it involves the police.
Of a possible suspect Taafe would only say, "They have somebody in mind."
Taafe said these gas buys were all electronic purchases in which paper receipts aren't required. As a result, he explained, "We can't know who used what for what."
yovich@vindy.com