The alleged wrongdoings of Kingston police Detective Lt. Timothy Matthews, who has been charged with stealing thousands from the city of Kingston, are inspiring a full-scale investigation of Ulster County's Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotic Team, the Daily Freeman is reporting today. The paper reports that the FBI is looking into URGENT's activities:
Ulster County Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum and Kingston Mayor James Sottile said on Thursday that large amounts of documents have been subpoenaed by the federal law-enforcement agency from the Sheriff’s Office, the city police department and City Hall.
Both men said the amount of records requested by the FBI suggests the agency’s probe in not focused solely on Matthews, who was suspended after being charged with stealing $9,000 from the city and later was accused of double dipping by charging both the city and the Kingston school district for simultaneous work.
Matthews was also accused of "double-dipping" his pay from the police and the Kingston school district on Monday by the New York State Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli. This has led to questions about the financial integrity of the school system's payments ot security guards, the Freeman reports today in a separate story.
The police department, the schools, and now the gang enforcement team -- this is starting to sound like a plotline from The Wire.
