Safety-service director denies grievances by 3 supervisors
The three men still have the right to appeal the decision to an arbitrator.
By Ed Runyan
WARREN — Doug Franklin, Warren safety-service director, has upheld the punishment given to three supervisors in the Warren Police Department who were given time off without pay for helping a sergeant watch and coach basketball games on city time.
Franklin notified Sgt. Mike Albanese, Sgt. Dan Mason and Lt. Eric Merkel that their grievances have been denied.
In letters to the three dated Thursday, Franklin said he supported the punishment given by Chief Tim Bowers, who was acting chief at the time he issued the punishment. Bowers will be sworn in as chief Wednesday.
Franklin’s letter instructs Bowers to schedule the three supervisors to serve their suspensions “promptly.” Each man has a right to appeal the decision to an arbitrator within 30 days.
Bowers said he has asked Capt. Janice Gilmore, who is in charge of the three supervisers, to notify him when the suspensions ought to begin and end. He wants the suspensions to be complete by the beginning of November, he said.
If any of the supervisors ask for the suspensions to be paid with accrued time such as vacation, he will approve that option, he said.
Albanese was suspended for five days, which is 50 hours; Mason was suspended for 20 days, which is 200 hours; and Merkel was suspended for 10 days, which is 80 hours.
Each of the three was suspended for falsifying time sheets for Sgt. Emanuel Nites, who left work for part of his work shift 14 times in January, February and March to watch or coach his son and daughter in basketball games in various locations.
In the letter to Albanese, Franklin said his conduct was “particularly troubling” because Albanese not only falsified time records to cover up Nites’ absence from work March 5 while Nites was watching his daughter play a basktball game in Solon, he also falsified records a second time “to correct his falsification of records.”
Nites was gone from 5:34 until 8:54 p.m. that day — 3 hours and 20 minutes — officials have said.
Franklin noted that Albanese, a 38-year department veteran, was working as a lieutenant that day, something he normally does not do.
“He is clearly not qualified to be a lieutenant and should be banned” from working in a lieutenant’s position in the future, Franklin said.
The letter to Sgt. Mason commended him for his “forthrightness during the investigation” and “acknowledgement of his dereliction of duty that allowed the infractions.”
Eleven of Nites’ 14 absences occurred while Mason was his supervisor, city officials have said.
In the letter to Merkel, Franklin said Merkel’s failure to attend the a grievance hearing on his punishment “is indicative of the attitude that he can do no wrong.”
He added, “He was instrumental in the three-month perpetuation of fraud on the city that included three subordinates.
“Lt. Merkel was personally involved in discarding an official document, falsifying payroll records and willful dereliction of duty,” Franklin wrote.
He said he does not believe a 10-day suspension was sufficient “without his acknowledgement of wrongdoing. However, I will support [Bowers] in his decision,” Franklin wrote.
Officials 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.
Nites agreed to take three months off without pay as punishment for his time-card infractions, including a later accusation that he improperly called off sick July 31, the night before his son played a baseball game in southern Ohio. Nites will be off work until Dec. 7.
Albanese, Mason and Merkel were represented at their grievance hearings by Chuck Choate, staff representative for the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, and Warren Police Capt. Tim Roberts, their local union representative.
Neither could be reached to comment on whether they would appeal Thursday’s decision.
runyan@vindy.com