Geneseo, N.Y. - New York State Police and Livingston County District Attorney Greg McCaffrey are now investigating Livingston County Sheriff's Office jail deputies for alleged misconduct involving timecards.
Livingston County administrator Ian Coyle confirms for 13WHAM News that the criminal investigation was handed over to the district attorney and New York State Police this week. A preliminary investigation was led by the Livingston County Sheriff's Office.
District Attorney Greg McCaffrey said he sent a letter to New York State Police on Tuesday requesting their involvement after his review of evidence initially gathered.
On Wednesday Livingston County Sheriff John York met behind closed doors with the county's board of supervisors at a regularly scheduled meeting. D.A. McCaffrey also attended a portion of the executive session after which the Board of Supervisors agreed to contract with McCabe Associates out of Rochester to conduct its own investigation involving employment and other related matters.
Coyle said the criminal investigation will take precedence and he added that the board has plans to contract with a forensic accounting firm to develop a risk assessment based on the allegations of criminal misconduct.
"We presently have allegations involving a single division of a single department in the county," Coyle told 13WHAM News. “At the end of the day people in public office or who work in public service are always held to a higher standard whether they like it or not."
Sources tell 13WHAM News that the alleged misconduct involves full and part time deputies swapping shifts in exchange for cash. A part-timer working a shift for a full-timer would be reimbursed in cash but the full-timer's timecard would reflect they worked the shift.
Coyle said he received a letter on November 30th first alerting him to possible misconduct. He then acted swiftly to launch a confidential investigation while also informing board members earlier this month.
Any internal inquiry into whether this practice was conducted in other departments or divisions is on hold while the criminal investigation is conducted. Coyle said that is why outside investigative agencies are being retained. McCabe Associates has been retained at a rate of $90-per-hour and a $0.65 mileage reimbursement Coyle confirmed.
The county employs about 1,100 people excluding election inspectors (1,281 including them) across 32 departments. Jail deputies comprise about a third of the Sheriff’s Office workforce Coyle estimated. An inquiry to the Sheriff’s Office for exact employment numbers in each division was not responded to on Thursday.
D.A. McCaffrey gave no estimate as to how long New York State Police may be investigating but said they will likely look at timecards, surveillance video, security swipe cards, and other evidence.
