Mamou cops resign over payroll fraud

With felony charges hanging over their heads, two Mamou police employees were allowed to resign rather than be terminated during a special meeting of the Mamou Town Council held last Thursday evening.
Normally, employees are afforded the right to have disciplinary hearings held in executive session, which excludes the public and press. However, both of them asked that the process be held in an open meeting.
Mamou Police Chief Robert McGee first recommended termination of Daphne Savoy and Kierra Guillory, who had been employed as patrolmen. They were caught falsifying time cards last week, which constitutes felony payroll fraud and felony malfeasance of office.
After listening to the details, the Council decided to take a 15 minute recess, during which time Savoy and Guillory were allowed to tender their resignations. When the meeting reconvened, McGee changed his recommendation, asking the Council to accept the resignations, which it did unanimously.
Because they resigned, the Town of Mamou will not pursue any further action against the pair.
McGee will report to the district attorney on the proceedings of the meeting. It was insinuated by members of the Council and the police chief that because they resigned, the district attorney might not choose to pursue the felony charges.
“Usually they (the district attorney’s office) don’t pursue charges if we don’t push it,” McGee said.
However, Councilwoman Leisa Deshotel advised the pair that the Mamou Town Council has no control over the decisions of the district attorney and that there could still be consequences.
On two occasions last week, Savoy clocked-in Guillory to work even though Guillory was not present in the police station. Savoy then left the station to go pick up Guillory at home for work on patrol with her.
The police chief was made aware of the problem through the report of a dispatcher, who heard about the incident from the previous dispatcher on duty. He accessed the video system in the station and saw Savoy punch both cards on Sept. 10 and Sept. 11.
Neither of the women disputed the charges against them. However, Guillory said, “It happens all the time” in the police department. She was quickly asked by Deshotel not to elaborate, but to keep any discussion to the incidents which precipitated the special meeting.
McGee said that he is not certain how much time elapsed between the time Savoy was clocked in and the time she was picked up to perform her duties, though he doesn’t believe much time had actually passed.
“I think she did come to work,” McGee said. “But it doesn’t matter how much time passed. It’s the fact that Miss Daphne punched the card” that wasn’t hers. “That was Mrs. Guillory’s card. By law she has to be present when it is punched.”
Councilman Robin Young underscored McGee’s comments.
“It’s not a lot of time that was ‘stolen’”, Young sympathetically said. “It’s just the fact that she punched the time card.”
After viewing the video, McGee checked with the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office for advice on how to proceed. He says that he was told that there was enough evidence for felony charges of payroll fraud and malfeasance of office.
McGee said that the incident implicated him, because he approved payment for the hours worked.
“I had to take action,” McGee said. “I’m signing the time sheets. I’m responsible. It could fall back on me.
“I called the mayor,” who “had heard about it on the street,” he continued. “We decided to [handle the situation] the right way.”
McGee called in both women on Sept. 15, offering them to resign. Neither one chose to resign.
After offering them to resign, McGee made contact with someone in the district attorney’s office, who said that Savoy could face two counts of felony malfeasance and two counts of felony accessory to payroll fraud. Guillory could face two counts of felony payroll fraud. Both crimes include the possibility of jail time in addition to steep fines.
During the special meeting, both Savoy and Guillory said that they were not told clearly the implications of the charges facing them, and they did not understand the benefits of resigning at the time.
Savoy said that she was under the impression that the act was a misdemeanor.
“We didn’t have a lot of time to think about resigning,” Savoy said. “We didn’t have weeks. We just had days.”
McGee said that he didn’t learn from the district attorney’s office that it was a felony until after the offer to resign. At that point, he could not have contact with the two women because the district attorney had instituted an investigation into the matter.
In addition to informing the district attorney, Mayor Ricky Fontenot will have to inform the state legislative auditor. Previously, Fontenot failed to report a theft by a city employee and was cited by the auditor.
“I have to report it,” Fontenot told the women. “I got kicked in the head last time. I’m not doing something I want to do; I’m doing something I have to do.”