Posted by Michelle/AL on 5/31/10 8:41am
Msg #339168
Backdating: It Just Ain't Worth It
This is an online news story I read and thought I would share:
Eddie Garcia
[e-mail address]
CBS 7 News
May 26, 2010
Midland, TX - While officer licensing agency TCLEOSE will not disclose what the investigation is specifically about, we've discovered through: documents, phone calls and sources close to the case what's behind this entire situation.
According to reliable sources on both sides of the case, the controversy stems from questions whether 2 volunteer reserve deputies working under Choc Harris between January and March of this year were authorized to do the job by TCLEOSE.
The concern: if these officers did not have the go-ahead from TCLEOSE: to patrol Midland County streets, write tickets, even make arrests - what happens to all those cases?
Is the county now subject to lawsuits from those defendants?
So here's where we begin.
An anonymous source tells CBS 7 the two officers in question are Paul Padgett and Matt McClure.
The two were verified as licensed officers and sworn-in on December 30, 2009 by Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace David Cobos for the purpose of working the weekend shift under Choc Harris.
According to TCLEOSE rules, any time an agency appoints an officer, they must notify the commission within 30 days using a notarized document.
Once it's received the commission activates the officers certification.
The source tells us Harris failed or forgot to send in the notification and it wasn't discovered until the beginning of February - past the 30-day deadline.
County officials feared the consequences of having inactive officers patrolling the county.
When confronted on February 15th, the source says Harris backdated the documents to December 29th and had notary public Arden Rainey sign them.
When questioned by Rainey, Harris reportedly told her she originally notarized the documents on the 29th and that he had mailed them off the following day - he speculated they must have been lost in the mail.
The source says Rainey didn't remember notarizing the documents in December and felt apprehensive about signing the backdated documents but did it anyway.
Upon further investigation, payroll records show Rainey was on vacation the entire last week of December.
Now, the other side of the story.
A different source says the situation is being skewed against Harris as a personal and political attack.
CBS 7 has obtained the documents at the center of the controversy.
Both are dated and notarized on December 29th.
The signature and stamp - by Arden Rainey, the notary who was on vacation that entire week.
The source tells us on that date Rainey came in to the office and notarized the documents so they could be sent off the following day.
One discrepancy Harris reportedly admits to, is forgetting to have Rainey sign page-two of McClure's paperwork on December 29th.
When TCLEOSE reported not having the documents the source indicates Harris believed the commission lost the paperwork, - something they commonly do according to the constable, so he prepared another set of originals and had Rainey sign page two of McClure's paperwork.
The document was dated December 29th.
Harris reportedly mailed the documents in the next day.
On February 18th TCLEOSE sent a confirmation of receipt, recognizing the December appointment of both officers.
There is one question concerning Paul Padget's paperwork.
Page one is notarized by Arden Rainey on December 29th but page two is notarized by another woman Shari Leible on the same date.
The source tells us Leible was the only person in the office when Harris showed up with the documents so she signed one page - the source claims it was right then that Rainey walked in and she took over the notarization.
According to our sources TCLEOSE has not told Harris what the investigation is about nor has it furnished him the original complaint.
We have made open records requests to TCLEOSE to obtain that information and also the notary record book for the days in question.
Once we have more information, we'll give it to you.
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