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Youngstown cops lose more than $20K in DUI fix, Kelty demoted
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G. Slattery
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Kelty
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown police Lt. John Kelty will lose about $16,990 next year after being demoted for his actions in a fixed driving under the influence case.
Overall, the four officers disciplined for the case involving the brother of an officer will lose about $23,000 in pay, with the biggest hit taken by Kelty for his demotion to patrolman, according to the city.
Kelty also will lose $1,383 with his five-day unpaid suspension. As a lieutenant, Kelty is in the Youngstown Ranking Police Officers Association and makes about $34.58 an hour. When he is demoted Jan. 3, he will be in the Youngstown Police Patrolmen’s Association and will make $26.41 an hour.
Lt. Gerard Slattery received a 10-day unpaid suspension for his actions. Slattery makes about $34.58. He will lose about $2,766 with his 10-day unpaid suspension.
Officer Thomas Wisener was suspended for 15 days unpaid. Wisener makes about $15.05 an hour. For the 15 eight-hour workdays, he will lose about $1,806.
Officer Assad Chaibi will lose about $106 for four hours of compensatory time taken from him.
Gerard Slattery’s 54-year-old brother, Joseph Slattery, was stopped Nov. 28 for running a red light and found with an open can of beer in his hand. Joseph Slattery received a citation for the open container but was not charged with DUI.
The report on the police department’s investigation into the case was released Monday. It showed Joseph Slattery’s blood-alcohol content level was 0.136. The legal blood-alcohol level is 0.08.
Kelty received his suspension and two-rank demotion to patrolman for reportedly telling Wisener, who stopped Joseph, to charge him only with an open-container violation. He failed a polygraph test when asked if he told Wisener not to charge Joseph Slattery with DUI.
Kelty also asked another supervisor to delete the towed-car report for Joseph Slattery, according to the Internal Affairs report.
Kelty, who has been on the force for more than 20 years, received the discipline for dishonesty, conduct unbecoming, failure of good behavior, neglect of duty and improper conduct by a supervisor.
Wisener, on the force for more than a year, was disciplined for dishonesty, conduct unbecoming, failure of good behavior, issuing a false police report and improperly processing property and evidence. He told investigators he did not charge Joseph Slattery with DUI because he thought he was ordered not to by Kelty. He wrote a false police report but admitted to investigators that he could have written an accurate one.
Wisener gave Joseph Slattery a DUI citation, but it was thrown away.
After Joseph Slattery was taken back to the police station, he called his brother to pick him up. Gerard Slattery, who has been on the force for about 17 years and heads the vice squad, called Kelty because he was displeased with Wisener for giving his brother a citation. Gerard Slattery was disciplined for conduct unbecoming, abuse of position and improper conduct of a supervisor.
Chaibi, who has been on the force for 17 years, administered a blood-alcohol test on Joseph Slattery, then threw away the evidence ticket from the machine. He had four hours of compensatory time taken away. Chaibi makes $26.41 an hour.
The Internal Affairs report recommended that Joseph Slattery be charged with DUI.