Yesterday we brought you news of the massive overtime scandal at the Riviera Beach Police Department. Detective Lee Ann Schneider has been charged with 152 counts of forgery and official misconduct for allegedly signing her supervisor's name to official documents so her boss could collect overtime. Schneider has pleaded not guilty, and her supervisor, Sgt. Pat Galligan, has not been charged with any crime. But other detectives on the squad have alleged in court documents that Galligan often collected overtime after fielding calls from home without visiting the crime scene or the office. Here's one insider's story:
On May 16, 2009, Detective Andrew Borrows was investigating an attempted murder in Riviera. That night, he worked with one other detective, Joseph Passaro. "There were no other detectives working and no supervisors working at this time," Borrows wrote in a statement obtained
by prosecutors in the case. "I spoke to Detective Sergeant Galligan about three times by phone that evening."
Borrows worked through the night, writing search warrants, emailing them to the judge in the case. Around 11 p.m., he called Galligan to ask for a special response team to help execute the warrant. Galligan agreed at first, then told Borrows that the operation had been delayed until 6 a.m. the next day.
Borrows went home and continued working on an "operation plan" for the warrant until 1:35 a.m. When he returned to the office on the morning of May 17, he submitted an overtime slip for the extra labor, from 11 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. But Galligan submitted overtime paperwork for five hours -- from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Borrows was not pleased.
"To the extent of my knowledge, at no time during the night did Detective Sergeant Galligan respond to the City in reference to my case," Borrows wrote in his statement. "He never reviewed any of my work. I had no contact with Sergeant Galligan after midnight when I began writing the operation plan at my house.
"The purpose of my calls to Sergeant Galligan were in order to give him information (that I had obtained probable cause) and to request an SRT [special response team]. I worked from 1500 hours until 0130 hours starting on 5/16/09, and did not see Sergeant Galligan during the day. Sergeant Galligan never indicated to me that he was in the office or the area. Sergeant Galligan never provided any direction or supervision whatsoever on my investigation or the associated paperwork."
Galligan, who retired in October 2009 after 23 years on the force, has not responded to a request for comment. Borrows declined to be interviewed.