Warren police probe ends with 4 in trouble

July 16, 2009 at 12:07a.m.

Police officers cannot use compensatory time to leave work to attend a basketball game, an internal affairs officer said.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

WARREN — An investigation that began in March with accusations that Sgt. Emmanual Nites of the Warren Police Department coached and watched his children’s basketball games while on duty has broadened to include 12 other times he’s accused of the practice.

As a result of an investigation conducted during May and June by Sgt. Jeff Cole, internal affairs officer with the department, Nites received a letter last week from Capt. Janice Gilmore notifying him that administrative charges have been filed.

Three of Nites’ supervisers also received letters last week charging them administratively with having condoned the practice by falsifying time sheets for the 14 instances, which are alleged to have occurred in January, February and March.

Nites and two of the supervisers — Sgt. Michael Albanese and Sgt. Dan Mason — participated in predisciplinary hearings at the police station Wednesday, Cole said.

A similar hearing will take place for Lt. Eric Merkel when he returns from vacation, Cole said.

The charges say Albanese and Merkel each falsified time sheets one time. They accuse Mason of falsifying time sheets 11 times.

Acting Chief Tim Bowers conducted the hearings and will decide on punishment, if any, within 10 days, Cole said.

Punishment can range from verbal reprimand to termination of employment, Cole said.

Gary Cicero, the city’s human relations director, wrote letters in late March charging Albanese and Merkel with falsifying Nites’ time sheets. Predisciplinary hearings were delayed when Bowers became acting chief in early April and decided an investigation should be handled by Cole.

Nites attended basketball games on Jan. 18, 24, 25 and 31, Feb. 7, 22, 27 and 28, and March 1, 5, 7, 13, 14 and 15, according to the letter from Gilmore.

On six of the 14 occasions, Nites did not report for roll call at the beginning of his shift because of the games, and on eight occasions he left work sometime during the shift to attend the games, Nites’ letter says.

Cole said the games were in Niles, Windham, Girard, Solon, Howland and Warren Township. Cicero’s letter to Albanese in March said Nites was working the afternoon shift March 5 but left work at 5:34 p.m. and returned at 8:54 p.m. after watching his daughter’s high school basketball game in Solon.

Albanese, Nites’ supervisor for the shift, submitted a time sheet authorizing Nites to be paid for the entire shift, and Nites was paid accordingly, the letter says.

The letter doesn’t say whether Albanese knew where Nites was going, but it says Albanese thought Nites would be gone for about two hours.

Departmental practice requires that an employee provide his supervisor with a time-off slip in that situation — something Nites did not do, Cicero said.

A letter to Merkel in March said Nites left work March 13 for 68 minutes to coach his son’s basketball game at Blessed Sacrament Church in Warren, from 7:22 to 8:30 p.m.

On that occasion, Nites gave Merkel, his supervisor, a time-off slip asking for one hour off to attend the game, but Merkel threw the slip away and turned in a time sheet showing that Nites worked a full shift, Cicero said.

In March, former police Chief John Mandopoulos said Nites used compensatory time to make up for the time he missed because of sporting events. But Cole said Wednesday there is nothing in the contract that allows for compensatory time to be used in that situation.

“There’s nothing in the policy to allow you to make up time. You’re either on duty or off duty,” Cole said.

runyan@vindy.com