Unamused Cat
March 12th, 2008, 01:21 AM
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HPD officers accused of stealing money from nonprofit
Another nonprofit has been the victim of theft, authorities said, and this time two Houston Police Department officers are the ones accused.
A Harris County grand jury on Tuesday indicted officers Tracie Denise Bell and Kirshondra Richardson on charges alleging they billed the Red Cross more than $166,000 last summer to operate a two-week basketball camp for Katrina evacuees that only lasted two days.
They are accused of stealing money given by the National Red Cross and administered by the local Urban League office.
Bell, a 13-year HPD veteran, and Richardson, a probationary officer in her first year with the department, have been relieved of duty and are suspended with pay, said HPD spokesman John Cannon. The two are charged with theft of more than $100,000, a second-degree felony with punishment ranging from probation to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The grand jury handed up the indictments the same day a jury heard opening arguments in the case against the former executive director of another nonprofit, the Sickle Cell Association of the Texas Gulf Coast.
Kenneth Beatty is accused of taking nearly $400,000 from the organization over four years. Beatty and former financial administrative assistant Willie Carlean Cruse were charged with felony theft of more than $200,000 after Beatty resigned his post in 2004. Cruse has pleaded guilty to theft and is awaiting sentencing, said Assistant District Attorney Russell Turbeville.
It was unclear Tuesday how accusations against the two Houston police officers may impact the nonprofits involved — Houston Area Urban League officials declined comment and referred questions to the district attorney's office. A spokesman with the Houston Red Cross referred calls to the national office.
Assistant District Attorney Terese Buess said Bell had administered legitimate basketball camps in the past, but accused the police officer of filing false claims about a camp last June.
Buess said Richardson helped fill out the paperwork, making her a party to the crime.
Bell claimed the camp at Hoffman Middle School lasted two weeks and had 310 attendees, Buess said, but the camp actually lasted two days and had 10 attendees.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5611062.html
HPD officers accused of stealing money from nonprofit
Another nonprofit has been the victim of theft, authorities said, and this time two Houston Police Department officers are the ones accused.
A Harris County grand jury on Tuesday indicted officers Tracie Denise Bell and Kirshondra Richardson on charges alleging they billed the Red Cross more than $166,000 last summer to operate a two-week basketball camp for Katrina evacuees that only lasted two days.
They are accused of stealing money given by the National Red Cross and administered by the local Urban League office.
Bell, a 13-year HPD veteran, and Richardson, a probationary officer in her first year with the department, have been relieved of duty and are suspended with pay, said HPD spokesman John Cannon. The two are charged with theft of more than $100,000, a second-degree felony with punishment ranging from probation to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The grand jury handed up the indictments the same day a jury heard opening arguments in the case against the former executive director of another nonprofit, the Sickle Cell Association of the Texas Gulf Coast.
Kenneth Beatty is accused of taking nearly $400,000 from the organization over four years. Beatty and former financial administrative assistant Willie Carlean Cruse were charged with felony theft of more than $200,000 after Beatty resigned his post in 2004. Cruse has pleaded guilty to theft and is awaiting sentencing, said Assistant District Attorney Russell Turbeville.
It was unclear Tuesday how accusations against the two Houston police officers may impact the nonprofits involved — Houston Area Urban League officials declined comment and referred questions to the district attorney's office. A spokesman with the Houston Red Cross referred calls to the national office.
Assistant District Attorney Terese Buess said Bell had administered legitimate basketball camps in the past, but accused the police officer of filing false claims about a camp last June.
Buess said Richardson helped fill out the paperwork, making her a party to the crime.
Bell claimed the camp at Hoffman Middle School lasted two weeks and had 310 attendees, Buess said, but the camp actually lasted two days and had 10 attendees.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5611062.html