GLASGOW KENTUCKY: Recent events with in the City of Glasgow and the GPD have focused the spotlight back on expunged records. Two assistant police chiefs were indicted by a Federal Grand jury on February 4, 2009 for illegal possession of narcotics and witness tampering.
In response to the indictments Glasgow Mayor Darrell Pickett then put a gag order from his office on city employees keeping them from discussing the federal indictment. As Glasgow Chief of Police Gary Bewley relayed this information he further stated how he felt betrayed by Mayor Pickett and the City Council that in addition to the gag order; requested Bewley to resign his position as police chief.
Upon Bewley’s resignation Mayor Pickett is once again in charge of the GPD. In total Pickett has thirty years experience in the GPD and seven years as the police chief. Pickett was elected into the Glasgow’s mayor’s office in November 2002.
One of Pickett’s first acts as mayor was to ask for an audit of the city. That audit showed payroll irregularities involving city treasurer Carol Sue “Susie” Pollock, Lorene Lee Hoffman and then police Chief Darrell Pickett.
Pickett faced one count of complicity to theft by deception being the supervisor approving time sheets for Pollock. Both Hoffman and her sister Pollock faced five counts of complicity to theft by deception. Hoffman was also charged with one count of theft by deception and Pollock forgery in the second degree.
Hoffman and Pollock claim that Pickett knew fully about changes in the time sheets and were actually directed by Pickett to do so. They stated that Pickett used this as an avenue for a pay raise for Hoffman without having to give an identical pay raise to another similarly placed employee.
Pickett’s indictment was dismissed first. Special Prosecutor Matthew Leveridge dismissed the charges against Hoffman and Pollock stating that the case was civil in nature while according to Leveridge intentional theft is not a criminal matter.
Meanwhile according to media contacts with the Kentucky State Police; Mayor Darrell Pickett has had his indictment expunged, removing those charges from the public record outside of public scrutiny.
While the charges have been dismissed against Pickett, Hoffman, and Pollock- the new indictments against assistant police chiefs Travis and Murray raise issues whether Leveridge handled those dismissals properly and if indeed additional problems still exist at GPD while Pickett remains Mayor.
