Length of Slisz investigation "puzzling," legal expert says

Nearly 11 months after he was accused of breaking into the evidence locker and overdosing inside the police department he worked for, former Johnstown Police Officer William Slisz has not been charged with a crime, and there is no timeline of when the investigation might be completed. August 18, 2018 JOHNSTOWN — Nearly 11 months after he was accuse...

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West Springfield Police Capt. Daniel Spaulding on paid leave amid evidence room probe

The approximately $18,000, sources agreed, remained unaccounted for from three separate drug cases. August 18, 2017 WEST SPRINGFIELD - The mayor and police chief today confirmed that the second highest-ranking official in the police department has been placed on indefinite paid administrative leave amid an investigation into "discrepancies" involvi...

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Framingham officer accused of stealing money wants charge dropped

Police officer accused of stealing money from the department's evidence room August 10, 2017 FRAMINGHAM — With his case scheduled to go to trial next month, an ex-Framingham police officer accused of stealing money from the department's evidence room is asking a judge to drop one of the charges against him. A lawyer representing former evidence roo...

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18 SWAT officers hospitalized after possible exposure to fentanyl during raid

Eighteen SWAT officers were taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital after the exposure caused them to become dizzy and suffer numbness August 9, 2017 More than a dozen SWAT team officers were hospitalized Wednesday after agents raided a home in the West End, CBS Pittsburgh reports. Around 6 a.m., several agencies began executing federal search warrants at thr...

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Gun Cases are Notoriously Hard to Make Stick. New York Thinks It Has the Answer.

The city is pursuing an ambitious and expensive plan to collect and test DNA from every gun recovered by police Enter Article DATE HERE wo New York police officers were sitting in a patrol car one night last August when they saw Avree Lamar, a 19-year-old with an open arrest warrant, climb into a cab near a housing project in Red Hook, Brookly...

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Police dogs face new dangers from fentanyl

Many local K-9 handlers have begun updating emergency plans and carrying naloxone, the overdose reversal drug commonly known as Narcan, specifically for their dogs. August 9, 2017 WOODLAND PARK, N.J. — Every shift holds a different danger for Odin, a 6-year-old drug-sniffing German shepherd with the Bergen County Sheriff's Office. Sometimes the dan...

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Kevin Burnham's widow gives up retirement annuity to mitigate theft from Springfield Police Department

He died of an apparent suicide while under criminal indictment for allegedly stealing almost $400,000 from the Springfield Police Department's evidence room. August 10, 2017 SPRINGFIELD -- The widow of Kevin Burnham has agreed to relinquish the balance of Burnham's retirement annuity after he died of an apparent suicide while under criminal indictm...

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Even secondhand exposure to fentanyl is dangerous

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic drug that's not only dangerous to the user, but for everyone nearby, including first responders. August 5, 2017 (WWLP) – Saturday, three police officers in the Boston suburb of Chelsea were affected by second hand exposure to Fentanyl. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic drug that's not only dangerous to the user, but ...

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Aberdeen police lieutenant suspended for allegedly tampering with drug evidence

Enter Headline here Enter Article DATE HERE An Aberdeen Police Department lieutenant has been suspended with pay after it was discovered he allegedly tampered with drug evidence, the department announced Thursday. The lieutenant, one of the three in the department, is an 18-year veteran of Aberdeen's police force. The officer's name was not re...

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2 N.J. police officers suspended in probe of missing drugs, evidence

nearly year-long investigation into drugs and other seized materials that went missing from the Kearny Police Department's evidence lockers. Enter Article DATE HERE KEARNY - The town council has approved at $12,000 contract to a former Somerset County police chief to oversee disciplinary charges brought against two veteran officers. The appoin...

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Former Upstate NY undersheriff sentenced for stealing guns from evidence locker

He admitted stealing the guns while he was undersheriff of the Otsego County Sheriff's Office from 1995 to 2005, federal prosecutors said. July 20, 2017 BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- A former Otsego County undersheriff has been sentenced to probation for stealing 73 firearms from his department's evidence locker. Arnold B. Carroll, 75, pleaded guilty in Febr...

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Justice Dept. Signals More Police Property Seizures Coming

A change would likely represent another reversal by Attorney General Sessions of Obama-era Justice Department policies July 17, 2017 The Justice Department will soon make it easier for local law enforcement to seize cash and property from crime suspects and reap the proceeds, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday. Sessions said a shift will be...

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Carpenter found guilty of 1990s murders of 2 prostitutes

Prosecutors used DNA evidence found on both victims as the keystone of their case against 51-year-old John Bittrolff. July 5, 2017 RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — A carpenter was convicted on Wednesday of murdering two prostitutes found beaten to death in the 1990s and faces 50 years to life in prison. Prosecutors used DNA evidence found on both victims as the k...

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These two Massachusetts police departments said it would take more than 30 hours to check evidence rooms for untested rape kits

They were also the only two departments that said they would need to charge a fee for the information. July 12, 2017 Most police departments questioned by MassLive about the number of untested rape kits among items in the evidence room shelves were able to produce an answer quickly and free of cost, but two departments said it would take hours of w...

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DA notifies defense attorneys on Dracut police evidence lapses

The Middlesex District  Attorney is now providing every person with an active criminal case out of the Dracut Police Department a copy of a private audit showing that years of neglect and mismanagement led to a litany of mistakes in the department's evidence control practices. July 9, 2017 DA notifies defense attorneys on Dracut police evidenc...

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Deadly Fentanyl Disguised As Prescription Pills

An autopsy revealed the victim, not identified by authorities, overdosed on drugs including fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. Enter Article DATE HERE When a Hamden man texted his dealer for four 30-milligram oxycodone in March, he may not have known what he was actually buying. It wasn't until after ...

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Cop pleads not guilty to stealing heroin, pills

June 30, 201 MILFORD - A former veteran Fairfield Police detective pleaded not guilty Friday to stealing thousands of dollars in heroin and OxyContin pills from the police department. Stephen Rilling, the 40-year-old son of Norwalk's Mayor Harry Rilling, whose investigations put dozens of drug dealers behind bars, stood before Superior Court Judge ...

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State AG investigating West Springfield police evidence room procedures

The Attorney General's office is now in charge of the evidence room investigation. June 26, 2017 WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Massachusetts Attorney General's office is investigating a possible money issue in the West Springfield Police evidence room. Police Chief Ronald Campurciani told 22News that during an internal audit there were some ...

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Medford Officer Pleads Guilty To Stealing Evidence In Murder At Stoneham Residence

A Medford Police Officer from Stoneham pled guilty Monday to two counts of witness intimidation in connection with taking evidence Enter Article DATE HERE STONEHAM, MA — A Medford Police Officer from Stoneham pled guilty Monday to two counts of witness intimidation in connection with taking evidence and lying to investigators during the invest...

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New county drug collection van, drug dropoff boxes hit the streets

Delaware County is hitting the road with what is reported to be the first drug takeback vehicle in the state. June 23, 2017 MEDIA COURTHOUSE >> Delaware County is hitting the road with what is reported to be the first drug takeback vehicle in the state. County leaders on Friday afternoon unveiled their new drug collection van, a mobile unit t...

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Fentanyl so potent it puts VT police at risk of accidental overdose

A drug 40 to 50 times more potent than pure heroin may be the future of the state's opiate problem Enter Article DATE HERE June 14, 2017 Fentanyl, which is about 40 times more potent than pure heroin, has prompted the Vermont State Police to create special labs to protect officers while testing possible drugs. A drug 40 to 50 times more potent...

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Vineland officer charged with possession of drugs from police drop-box

A local man was charged Wednesday with breaking into the prescription drug disposal box at the Police Department while on duty, officials said. June 15, 2017 VINELAND — A local man was charged Wednesday with breaking into the prescription drug disposal box at the Police Department while on duty, officials said. Richard Janasiak, 30, was accused of ...

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City must pay $19M to end suits by wrongly convicted pair over 1993 Brooklyn kidnapping - DNA

DNA analysis of hairs on the girl's body in 2009 excluded Wagstaffe and Connor. June 13, 2017 The city must pay out $19 million to end the wrongful conviction suits of two men who spent decades in prison because of police misconduct. Everton Wagstaffe, 48, and Reginald Connor, 49, said their 1993 kidnapping convictions were the product of a shoddy ...

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North Providence police audit misses deadline


Of the 26,000 pieces of evidence in the room, Lombardi said 200 pieces still need to be logged. June 12, 2015 NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The mayor's deadline for the completion of an audit of the evidence came and went. And more than two weeks after that May 26 deadline passed - there's still "quite a bit of work to do," Mayor Charles Lombardi said i...

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DEA seizes 50 kilograms of fentanyl precursor in Northborough valued at $570 million

It is believed that this represents the DEA's largest seizure of a fentanyl precursor in the New England Region in recent years,'' according to a statement by the US attorney's office. June 9, 2017 About 50 kilograms of a fentanyl precursor with a potential street value of $570 million was seized by federal and local law enforcement in Northborough...

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New drug kits save police dogs from opioid overdoses

inhaling powerful opioids can be deadly, so officers have a new tool to protect their four-legged partners: naloxone, a drug that has already been used for years to reverse overdoses in humans. June 7, 2017 BOSTON — Police dogs simply follow their noses to sniff out narcotics. But inhaling powerful opioids can be deadly, so officers have a new tool...

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Former Vt. Dispatcher Sentenced

The dispatcher will spend the next six months on house arrest after letting her boyfriend and another man into restricted areas of the sheriff's department. June 7, 2017 White River Junction — A former Orange County dispatcher will spend the next six months on house arrest after letting her boyfriend and another man into restricted areas of the she...

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Ex-Springfield police officer Kevin Burnham died before pleading guilty

Burnham allegedly stole $400,000 from evidence room June 6, 2017 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – It was a tragic ending to the life of a retired Springfield Police Officer, who had been accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the police department's evidence room. Kevin Burnham allegedly stole nearly $400,000, between 2009 and 2014. H...

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Dead officer’s pension in jeopardy, A.G. drops charges

The Attorney General found evidence that Burnham tainted 170 different drug cases June 6, 2017 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Former Springfield police officer Kevin Burnham died an innocent man in the eyes of the law. The Attorney General's office told the I-Team, the larceny charges against Burnham will be dropped. It's unclear whether Burnham signe...

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Police alerted to spread of deadly threat of synthetic drug fentanyl

Federal officials issued an urgent warning Tuesday to local police across the country to take added precautions in their contacts with addicts and dealers suspected of carrying the quick acting, deadly drug fentanyl. June 6, 2017 WASHINGTON – Federal officials issued an urgent warning Tuesday to local police across the country to take added precaut...

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Former Vt. Dispatcher Sentenced


She also gave Sadler the keys to the drug take-back drop box and the evidence room, the affidavit states. June 7, 2017 White River Junction — A former Orange County dispatcher will spend the next six months on house arrest after letting her boyfriend and another man into restricted areas of the sheriff's department, where the pair allegedly took pr...

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Warrant issued for ex-officer after failing to show up in court

Retired Officer Kevin Burnham was supposed to have change-of-plea hearing June 5, 2017 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A warrant has been issued for the arrest of former Springfield police officer charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars, after he failed to show up in court for a change-of-plea hearing Monday. The hearing for Kevin Burnha...

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Detective in Sanborn case turns over more files he kept at home

The lead detective who kept police files in his attic related to the investigation of Anthony H. Sanborn Jr. has turned over additional documents that include more information on that murder case as well as other cases, a new court filing reveals. June 5, 2017 The lead detective who kept police files in his attic related to the investigation of Ant...

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Fairfield narcotics cop accused of stealing heroin, OxyContin

"Like too many other families in Connecticut, my son and our family are facing the effects of the opioid epidemic that is sweeping our state," the mayor said." June 2, 2017 BRIDGEPORT - Investigators were preparing to arrest Fairfield Police Detective Stephen Rilling for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in heroin and OxyContin pills from the...

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Fairfield narcotics cop accused of stealing heroin, OxyContin

Police said between June 2016 and February 2017, Rilling signed out more than 225 folds of heroin, more than 800 OxyContin pills and a few packets of cocaine from the department's evidence room on the false pretext of needing to have the drugs tested and "ultimately converted these narcotics for his personal use, and consumed them as a result of an...

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Ex-Springfield cop accused of stealing from evidence room back in court

Ex-Springfield cop accused of stealing nearly $400K from evidence room May 31 ,2017 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A judge has denied an attorney's request for a re-continuance in the case of an ex-Springfield police officer accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from the police department's evidence room. Retired Springfield Police Officer Kevin Burnham...

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Fairfield Police Arrest Detective After Probe Into Missing Evidence

Fairfield police said they have reviewed their policy and have implemented stricter guidelines regarding evidence. March 27, 2017 A police detective has been arrested after an investigation into missing drug evidence, police said. Detective Stephen Rilling, 40, was charged with possession of narcotics, forgery and tampering with evidence, among oth...

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Suffolk officer testifies about destruction of evidence in Bittrolff case

The department also destroyed evidence that might have linked one of its sergeants to the cases because it wasn't identified as homicide evidence March 24, 2017 The Suffolk County Police Department destroyed evidence in two murders because of a paperwork error, an officer testified Wednesday at the trial of the man charged in both cases. The depart...

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Ex-Framingham Cop's Larceny Trial Scheduled For September

A 31-year veteran Framingham Police officer accused of stealing more than $20,000 in cash from the department's evidence room May 23, 2017 FRAMINGHAM, MA - A 31-year veteran Framingham Police officer accused of stealing more than $20,000 in cash from the department's evidence room nearly two years ago is scheduled for a September trial. In Middlese...

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Framingham Police Evidence-Room Scandal An Issue — Again

Framingham Police Department's former evidence room officer and the discovery of a "hidden key'' to the evidence room was raised in court on Tuesday by the defense attorney for a Framingham man charged with drug trafficking. Enter Article DATE HERE WOBURN, MA -- The fallout from the scandal created by the alleged theft of money by the Framingh...

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3555 Hits

ARLENE VIOLET - ‘Monkey business’ at NP Police

found that at least 100 items, including a handgun, six green pills, crack cocaine, a ring, two necklaces, and a computer laptop are missing or misplace May 9, 2017 North Providence Acting Police Chief Christopher Pelagio has led a charmed life. He leap-frogged over three captains and was appointed by Mayor Charles Lombardi as acting deputy chief i...

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Audit shows 'years of neglect' of evidence at Dracut P.D.


The Police Department's failure to follow numerous evidence policy requirements, leading to the mishandling of property and evidence, illuminates "years of neglect" and are part of systemic issues within the agency May 6, 2017 DRACUT -- The Police Department's failure to follow numerous evidence policy requirements, leading to the mishandling of pr...

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DNA links NYC child rapist to young girl's 1993 cold case sexual attack


They obtained a match in January when Dixon pleaded guilty to raping the 12-year-old girl in the Bronx in November 2016 and his DNA profile was entered into a nationwide FBI database. May 5, 2017 Published May 05, 2017 Fox News Facebook Twitter livefyre Email Print Mugshot for William Dixon, 58, that was taken this week. (NYS Department of Correcti...

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Investigator turns over Sanborn murder case files that he kept in his attic

The boxes of material held exculpatory evidence and show that a detective lied at the trial, the defense team says. May 2, 2017 One of the now-retired Portland police detectives who investigated the 1989 murder of Jessica L. Briggs has turned over two boxes of case files he has kept in his attic, including material never before disclosed to Anthony...

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2221 Hits

County crime lab chemist charged with stealing, using drugs from evidence locker

A chemist with the Allegheny County crime lab has been charged with stealing and using drugs from an evidence locker in February. May 3, 2017 A chemist with the Allegheny County crime lab has been charged with stealing and using drugs from an evidence locker in February. Matthew Ieraci, 28, of Baldwin Borough was placed on leave from the lab Feb. 2...

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1739 Hits

Police say they're frustrated with lengthy evidence room audit


Mayor Lombardi: 'Get it done. I don't want to hear it anymore May 2, 2017 NORTH PROVIDENCE – Police officials say they believe more than half of 100 or more items that have gone missing from the North Providence Police Department's evidence rooms will eventually be found in the department. Items still unaccounted for include two "crack cocaine buys...

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Pa. shows significant progress in reducing backlog of untested sexual assault evidence

The issue came to light after a 2015 USA Today investigation estimated that more than 100,000 rape kits - evidence collected after reported sexual assaults - were untested nationwide. Enter Article DATE HERE A new state report shows a one-time embarrassment for Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies is getting significant correction. In li...

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1715 Hits

Court officer gets jail for evidence tampering

He was convicted of a single charge of withholding evidence in a criminal proceeding for attempting to have a cellphone he hid at the courthouse destroyed after his March 2015 arrest. April 26, 2017 LAWRENCE -- A former Lawrence District Court officer convicted of evidence tampering will avoid serving a year in jail while his appeal is pending, a j...

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2143 Hits

Prosecutors Overturn More Than 21,000 Drug Convictions In Wake Of Massive Drug Lab Misconduct

Dookhan's prolific fakery resulted in a list of 40,000 cases possibly tainted by her work. Enter Article DATE HERE Back in 2012, it was discovered that a Massachusetts state drug lab technician had falsified thousands of tests submitted as evidence in criminal cases. Technician Annie Dookhan was able to "produce" three times as many test resul...

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Massachusetts Supreme Court dismisses 21,000 drug convictions following chemist misconduct

Beyond the over 21,000 cases likely to be dismissed, another 500 to 700 convictions would most likely not be vacated April 21, 2017 JURIST] The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court  on Thursday formally approved the dismissal [press release] of over 21,000 drug convictions that were deemed [order, PDF] to be "tainted" by a former state chemist...

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